ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Aggregates Levy: Stroud

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which beneficiaries of the Aggregates Levy Sustainable Fund were based in Stroud constituency in each year since the inception of the levy.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA's Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund database captures information at county-level and has details of beneficiaries from April 2004 onwards. Beneficiaries that have run projects in Gloucestershire, since April 2004, are shown in the following list.
	 Gloucestershire—April 2004 onwards
	Bowmoor Sailing Club
	British Waterways
	Bristol Regional Environmental Records Centre
	Cotswold Canal Trust
	Cotswold Water Park Society
	Cotswold AONB Partnership
	Drybrook Parish council
	Fairford Playing Field Ltd
	Fairford Town council
	Gloucester city council
	Gloucestershire county council
	Gloucestershire Geoconservation Trust
	Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust
	Huntsmans Quarries Ltd
	Kemerton Conservation Trust
	MCTI Partnership
	Oxford Archaeology
	Pool Keynes Village Hall Committee
	RSPB
	Staunton Parish council
	Staunton Meend Common
	Stroud Valleys Project
	South Gloucestershire council
	Somerford Keynes Parish council
	South Cerney Playgroup
	The National Trust
	The Jurassic Hill Geopark
	University of Gloucester

Alcoholic Drinks: EU Action

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action he is taking to ensure the term cider brandy is retained and not renamed cider spirit in the draft EU regulations to replace the present EU Regulation 1576/89; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 16 October 2007
	DEFRA is aware that the term "cider brandy" is absent from the draft of the European Union regulation on spirit drinks. We are pressing the European Commission to find a pragmatic solution to this issue.

Animal Welfare: Shipping

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many ships departing from UK ports since 1 January 2007 carrying live animals have been subject to inspection for animal welfare purposes; and what percentage of sailings this constitutes.

Jonathan R Shaw: Since January 2007, two specialist livestock vessels have operated out of Dover. These vessels have also had a limited number of sailings from Sheerness and Ipswich port. Animal Health carry out welfare inspections on a percentage of all the animal transport vehicles travelling on these vessels.
	Combined figures for the vessels show that, of 104 sailings, 97 included physical and documentary checks on a number of the vehicles onboard. This means that over 93 per cent. of the sailings had welfare checks carried out on their vehicles.

Cattle: Transport

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cattle passport applications he expects to be received late due to the postal strike; and how many cattle he estimates this will render valueless.

Jonathan R Shaw: BCMS receives around 49,000 applications each week for cattle passports. Passports are produced provided there is reasonable evidence to show that farmers submitted applications in good time or were prevented from doing so by factors outside their control. These factors include known postal strikes.
	If applications were not submitted in reasonable time then a passport would be refused and farmers would be unable to move the animal from their holding. 0.35 per cent. of all applications received are normally refused, subject to appeal because they are late. The figures from the last postal strike show that 0.45 per cent. of applications were initially refused. Three quarters of these appealed against the decision and were successful because of the postal strike delays. This compares with 55 per cent. of such appeals during a similar period the previous year.

Departments: Public Expenditure

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what accounts directions were issued by his Department in financial years  (a) 2005-06 and  (b) 2006-07.

Jonathan R Shaw: Under the Government Resource and Accounts Act 2000 HM Treasury issues accounts directions to Departments, pension schemes and agencies and under the Government Trading Fund Act 1973 to trading funds.
	For the years 2005-06 and 2006-07 Department has issued accounts directions for the form and content of resource and other accounts to the following sponsored bodies;
	 2005-06
	British Potato Council
	British Waterways Board
	Consumer Council For Water
	Covent Garden Market Authority
	English Nature
	Environment Agency
	Food From Britain
	Gangmasters Licensing Authority
	Home Grown Cereals Authority
	Horticultural Development Council
	Meat and Livestock Commission
	Milk Development Council
	Royal Botanical Gardens Kew
	 2006-07
	British Potato Council
	British Waterways Board
	Countryside Agency
	Commission For Rural Communities
	Covent Garden Market Authority
	English Nature
	Food From Britain
	Gangmasters Licensing Authority
	Home Grown Cereals Authority
	Horticultural Development Council
	Meat and Livestock Commission
	Milk Development Council
	Natural England
	Royal Botanical Gardens Kew

Flood Control

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to implement the recommendations of the review, Flooding Lessons Learned, chaired by Sir Michael Pitt.

Phil Woolas: The Government await the findings of the Flooding Lessons Learned review and will respond as positively as possible to the recommendations.

Food: Procurement

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he intends to assess the effectiveness of the Public Sector Food Procurement Initiative in respect of small and local meat producers.

Jonathan R Shaw: Earlier this year, DEFRA commissioned Ipsos MORI to gauge awareness of the Public Sector Food Procurement Initiative (PSFPI) in schools and local authorities. The survey included questions on the proportion of tenders from small and local producers, including meat producers. The results were positive with:
	three in five schools (59 per cent.) and four in five local authorities stating that they encourage tenders from small and local producers;
	almost seven in 10 local authorities (69 per cent.) stating that at least half the food supplied to schools in their area is from small and local producers;
	half of the schools (53 per cent.) stating that at least half of their food is supplied by small and local producers while one in ten schools (9 per cent.) say that all their food is supplied from these producers.
	The report also found that in 52 per cent. of the local authorities and 44 per cent. of schools the proportion of food supplied by small and local producers during the last two to three years had increased.
	A copy of the Ipsos MORI survey is on the PSFPI website at http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/policy/sustain/procurement/school-food.htm. It was conducted during the period March to July 2007 and covered 81 local authorities and 255 schools.
	Recent research by the Meat and Livestock Commission, based on estimates provided by 126 English local authorities, suggests that 39 per cent. of their meat by volume was locally sourced. The figure may exaggerate the amount of locally farmed meat supplied as not all local authorities seek provenance.
	In addition to the research mentioned above, DEFRA is currently collating data from across central Government to determine the proportion of publicly procured food that is British. We aim to publish the information before the end of this month.

Foot and Mouth Disease: Compensation

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what compensation will be made available to  (a) auction marts which suffered closure owing to foot and mouth measures and  (b) farmers who were unable to enter their stock for sale in such auction marts. [R]

Jonathan R Shaw: There are no plans to compensate auction markets who suffered closure owing to foot and mouth measures, or farmers who were unable to enter their stock for sale in such auction markets.
	Under the Animal Health Act 1981, compensation is paid for animals that are compulsorily slaughtered to prevent the spread of disease. For foot and mouth disease (FMD), the Act requires that compensation is paid at the full market value before the animal became infected. This is determined by an approved valuer at the time of slaughter. Compensation is also paid for other items, such as farm equipment and feed, where these are seized because they are considered to be contaminated; this includes such things as milk. However, it is a long established principle that the Government do not meet the costs of consequential losses, which must be borne by the industry. Government seek to minimise the risk of market impacts, particularly by encouraging public understanding of the issues.
	We are taking a risk-based and staged approach to easing movement restrictions when the evidence indicates that it is appropriate to do so. This is the best way to facilitate the return to normal working for the industry. We are working in partnership with the industry, but eradication of foot and mouth disease remains our priority.

National Fallen Stock Collection and Disposal Scheme

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make support for the increased costs of collection available to those farmers with fallen stock in low risk areas which are now dependent upon using the National Fallen Stock Company for collection.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 16 October 2007
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State (Hilary Benn) announced on 8 October 2007,  Official Report , column 39, that DEFRA would provide £1 million to raise the level of subsidy for the National Fallen Stock scheme for farmers in the foot and mouth (FMD) risk area from 10 per cent. to 100 per cent. This is targeted to help the livestock farmers that have been worst affected financially from restrictions imposed as a result of FMD and this will be available to all livestock keepers in the FMD risk area.
	The National Fallen Stock scheme will continue as normal in the rest of the UK and for non-susceptible livestock in the risk area, subject to FMD licensing controls. There are no plans for any extra support to be introduced.

WOMEN AND EQUALITY

Equality and Human Rights Commission: Manpower

Theresa May: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how many staff were employed by the  (a) Commission for Racial Equality,  (b) Disability Rights Commission and  (c) Equal Opportunities Commission prior to the establishment of the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

Barbara Follett: No staff were made redundant from any of the legacy commissions. However the three commissions ran voluntary severance schemes and the following numbers left the commissions: CRE had 78 leavers, DRC had 68 leavers and EOC had 39 leavers.

SCOTLAND

Youth Citizenship Commission

David Mundell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when the Government expect to launch the Youth Citizenship Commission, as announced in the Green Paper: The Governance of Britain; and what discussions he has had with the Scottish Executive on the involvement of young people from Scotland in the initiative.

Beverley Hughes: I have been asked to reply.
	The Youth Citizenship Commission will report to the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families and the Secretary of State for Justice. It will be launched this autumn. There have been discussions at official level between the Secretariat for the Commission and the Scottish Executive.

WALES

Departments: Correspondence

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what guidance his Department follows on the maximum time taken to respond to hon. Members' correspondence; and what performance against that target was in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Peter Hain: The Wales Office complies with Cabinet Office guidelines for the maximum time for responding to correspondence.
	The Wales Office publishes correspondence statistics in its annual report and to the Cabinet Office for their annual report to Parliament.
	The latest figures for April 2006 to March 2007 were 93 per cent. of correspondence answered within 15 days of receipt.

Departments: Manpower

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people were employed by his Department on 1 January in each of the last five years; and how many of these staff were  (a) permanent employees,  (b) temporary staff and  (c) contractors.

Peter Hain: The Wales Office publishes staffing figures within the Departmental Annual Report. The 2007 Report (CM7110) provides data on staff including staff numbers, permanent and temporary staff. A copy of the report can be obtained from the Library of the House or it can be viewed on our website:
	http://www.walesoffice.gov.uk/2007/AnnualReport2007.pdf.
	The Wales Office has not employed any contractors in the last five years.

Departments: Official Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much was spent by his Department on official hospitality in the last 12 months.

Peter Hain: Wales Office records are kept in financial year.
	£12,265 was spent on hospitality in financial year 2006-07.

Departments: Policy

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what policy changes his Department has implemented since 27 June 2007.

Peter Hain: I was delighted to be re-appointed Secretary of State for Wales. I have pressed forward the same policies of deepening devolution in Wales, particularly under the framework set by the Government of Wales Act 2006, and championing Welsh interests.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Departments: General Elections

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what contingency preparations his Department made for the possibility of a general election in autumn 2007; and what the costs of those preparations were.

Paul Goggins: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 15 October 2007,  Official Report , columns 822-23W, by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Edward Miliband).

Departments: Internet

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many websites his Department operates; how many it operated at 1 January 2005; and what the estimated annual cost has been of running his Department's websites in the last five years.

Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Office operates 15 websites. On 1 January 2005 the Department operated 11 websites. The estimated annual cost of running the Department's websites in each of the last five years is detailed in the following table.
	
		
			   Estimated cost (£) 
			 2002-03 28,355 
			 2003-04 34,331 
			 2004-05 30,374 
			 2005-06 56,103 
			 2006-07 39,837

Departments: Internet

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many hits the  (a) most popular and  (b) least popular website run by his Department has received since 1 January 2007.

Paul Goggins: The most popular website run by the Northern Ireland Office is www.nio.gov.uk; it received 8,767,572 hits between 1 January 2007 and 31 August 2007.
	The website used least was www.howsecureismyhome.com; it received 5,909 hits over this same period.

Departments: Secondment

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff are seconded to his Department from outside Government; from which outside body each has been seconded; and what the length is of each secondment.

Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Office currently has no staff seconded from outside Government.

ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Political Parties: Finance

Francis Maude: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker' Committee on the Electoral Commission if he will make a statement on steps being taken by the Electoral Commission to investigate the permissibility of the donation by Mr. Michael Brown to the Liberal Democrats.

Peter Viggers: I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for North-East Hertfordshire (Mr. Heald) on 16 May 2007,  Official Report, column 748W.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

BBC: EU Grants and Loans

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much the BBC received in the form of  (a) loans,  (b) direct payments and  (c) indirect payments from EU institutions in each of the last five years.

James Purnell: This is a matter for the BBC. The BBC Group finance director will consider the question raised by the hon. Member and write to him direct. Copies of the reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Departments: Internet

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many hits the  (a) most and  (b) least popular website run by his Department has received since 1 January 2007.

Margaret Hodge: The information requested is as follows:
	 Visitor statistics 1 January to 31 August 2007
	The following statistics refer to 'unique visitors' rather than 'hits' which is accepted as a more useful indicator of the popularity of sites.
	The most popular site was the main website at:
	http://www.culture.gov.uk/
	
		
			  Month  Number 
			 January 141,954 
			 February 162,029 
			 March 155,449 
			 April 140,659 
			 May 107,151 
			 June 110,018 
			 July 100,454 
			 August 87,734 
		
	
	The least popular was 'Where We Live' at:
	http://www.wherewelive.org.uk/
	
		
			  Month  Number 
			 January 520 
			 February 520 
			 March 478 
			 April 415 
			 May 585 
			 June 479 
			 July 396 
			 August 426

Digital Broadcasting: Whitehaven

Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what percentage of those eligible have applied for assistance with digital switchover in Whitehaven.

James Purnell: As of 15 October 2007, 33 per cent. of those identified as being eligible for assistance from the digital switchover help scheme in the Whitehaven area had contacted the help scheme administrator. 25 per cent. of those eligible for assistance opted to receive help; 8 per cent. of those eligible for assistance chose to opt-out of the scheme.

Internet: Copyright

Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with the Secretaries of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills and Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform on the implementation of recommendation 39 of the Gowers Review, on internet service providers' responsibility for copyright theft.

Margaret Hodge: As Minister with responsibility for the creative industries, I have had discussions with my hon. Friend the Minister for Intellectual Property and Quality at the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, and my right hon. Friend, the Minister for Competitiveness at the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform in relation to progress on the implementation of a range of recommendations from the Gowers review, including recommendation 39.

Members: Correspondence

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he will reply to the letters from the hon. Member for Forest of Dean dated 20 April and 18 July regarding the Waterways Museum in Gloucester.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 15 October 2007
	I replied to the hon. Member's letters on 16 October. I apologise for the completely unacceptable delay in responding to this correspondence. I am taking steps to ensure that officials respond efficiently to correspondence we receive.

Television: Licensing

Alan Reid: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many television licences have been issued to addresses in  (a) Argyll and Bute constituency,  (b) the STV Central region and  (c) the STV North region.

James Purnell: holding answer 16 October 2007
	The BBC has responsibility for the administration of the television licensing system and the maintenance of television licence records. I understand from the BBC, however, that they are not able to provide a breakdown by constituency or TV region of the number of TV licences issued, as there is no operational need for the BBC to hold the information in this way. The information is recorded at individual address level and aggregated to national level for reporting purposes.

Visit Scotland

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the locations are of the overseas offices of  (a) VisitScotland and  (b) VisitWales.

Margaret Hodge: Neither VisitScotland nor VisitWales operates overseas offices.
	However, under an agreement made between DCMS and the Scottish Executive in March 2005, VisitScotland carries out overseas marketing through VisitBritain's offices in Germany, France, the Netherlands and Eire.
	VisitWales has two members of staff working in VisitBritain's New York office. These are the only representatives from VisitWales located overseas.

Visit Scotland

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much funding his Department provided to  (a) VisitScotland and  (b) VisitWales in each of the last five years.

Margaret Hodge: VisitScotland and VisitWales are fully funded by the Scottish Executive and the Welsh Assembly respectively. Neither receives any funding from DCMS.

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Children: Day Care

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the percentage of families who have access to affordable childcare places in England, broken down by  (a) region and  (b) constituency.

Beverley Hughes: Information is not available in the form requested.
	Ofsted have produced figures on the numbers of registered child care providers and places on a quarterly basis from March 2003. Their latest figures were published in their report "Registered Childcare Providers and Places, June 2007", which is available on their website,
	www.Ofsted.gov.uk/

Children: Poverty

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which Secretary of State has the lead role in delivering the 2010 child poverty target; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: As stated in 'PSA Delivery Agreement 9: Halve the number of children in poverty by 2010-11, on the way to eradicating child poverty by 2020',
	"The Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, and the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions will be responsible for child poverty, and in addition the Chancellor of the Exchequer is the lead Minister for this PSA."
	I refer the hon. Member to the reply of 18 July 2007,  Official Repor t, column 92W.

Foster Care

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will introduce a compulsory registration scheme for private fostering.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 15 October 2007
	 The Government have agreed that at a suitable point we will publish a report on the impact of the enhanced notification scheme introduced by the Children Act 2004, and it is on that basis that we will announce whether or not we are minded to move towards a registration scheme.

Parents: Disadvantaged

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what support his Department provides to parents in areas with high levels of gang and gun-related crime to help ensure that children do not become involved in criminal activity.

Beverley Hughes: We are providing extra funding this year to areas where gun, knife and gang crime is most prevalent to accelerate the roll-out of extended schools. Parenting support is an important part of the extended schools core offer of services. There are currently over 7,000 schools providing access to the core offer of services and by 2010 all schools will be offering these services.
	In addition, DCSF is leading a number of wider activities that will provide parents with support to help them steer their children away from trouble. These include launching the £34 million Parent Know How programme; establishing the National Academy for Parenting Practitioners; investing £4 million to employ Respect parenting practitioners, targeted at helping parents whose children are most at risk of engaging in antisocial behaviour; we have established a national network of 53 Family Intervention Projects supporting families facing the most problems; and we have set up, in 18 local authorities, Parenting Early Intervention Pathfinders for parents of younger children who are at risk of negative outcomes.

Play: Facilities

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the number of publicly run play areas for children available in  (a) 1997 and  (b) 2007.

Beverley Hughes: The information requested is not collected centrally. We recognise fully the benefits of play for children and we continue to take steps to support and promote the provision of opportunities for play. For example, between 2008-09 and 2010-11, we are providing over £1.1 billion for schools so that every school will be offering access to extended services by 2010. Through this, children and families will be able to access breakfast and after-school clubs, a range of activities and community services, with areas for play an important element of the provision.
	In addition, the Government are supporting improvements to the quality of parks and green spaces in all our towns and cities, especially the most deprived areas, so that everyone has access to good quality spaces close to where they live. The quality of parks and green spaces is being driven up by the Government-supported Green Flag Award Scheme; knowledge, capacity and skills within local authorities have been enhanced through the How To programme and the work of the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, and many communities have improved their local spaces through support Groundwork, the Living Spaces programme and the Liveability Fund.

Video Games: Violence

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what process is to be followed by the online review into the effect of violent video games;
	(2)  which groups and organisations have been approached to take part in the review into the effect of violent video games;
	(3)  when he expects the review into the effect of violent video games will be complete; and when the results will be published;
	(4)  whether there are any other data collection methods the review into violent video games will use other than the online questionnaire.

Beverley Hughes: The review being carried out by Dr. Tanya Byron will consider the evidence on the risks to children and young people from inappropriate or harmful content in video games and the internet and assess the effectiveness and adequacy of existing measures to protect them and support parents.
	An open call for evidence was published by Dr. Byron on 9 October 2007, running until 30 November 2007. It asks respondents to respond online via the Department's website or to email or post responses to the questions posed in the call for evidence document.
	A children and young people's call for evidence is due out in week commencing 22 October 2007 and will be promoted through a wide range of media platforms (including social networking sites and online debates).
	In addition to considering responses to these two open calls for evidence, the Byron Review will draw upon a wide range of existing evidence, including published commentary and research literature, and will undertake some further research in areas where gaps in the literature have been identified.
	Since the review was announced on 8 September 2007, the review has met with groups, organisations and individuals representing parents; children and young people; those involved in the welfare, education and safety of children; the academic and research community; the video gaming industry; gamers; the internet industry (including producers, content aggregators, web hosts, internet service providers, search and navigation providers, consumer device manufacturers and retailers); advertising and retail bodies; government agencies; other statutory and non-statutory public bodies and third sector organisations. Dr. Byron and her team will continue to meet with key stakeholders throughout the period of the review, and they welcome input from any interested person or organisation.
	The final report (due to be published in March 2008) will make recommendations to the Secretaries of State for Children's Schools and Families and Culture Media and Sport. This will include a list of individuals and groups that have contributed to the Review.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Alisher Usmanov

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish reports received from British embassies relating to Alisher Usmanov.

Jim Murphy: Such information would constitute personal data. A request for personal information brings into play the relevant legislative provisions on data release by the Government and would require the consent of the individual concerned.

Defence Systems and Equipment International Exhibition

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which Ministers from his Department attended the Defence Systems and Equipment International exhibition in September.

Kim Howells: I can confirm to my hon. Friend that no Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Ministers attended the Defence Systems and Equipment International (DSEi) event in September to which he refers.
	However, the FCO did jointly sponsor a seminar at the DSEi event with the Defence Manufacturers Association. The seminar aimed to raise awareness and build support for an International Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) among the defence and military equipment industry. John Duncan, UK ambassador for Multilateral and Disarmament Affairs in Geneva, gave a speech about the UK's approach to an ATT and responded to questions on the subject.

Departments: Recruitment

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much the Department paid in fees to recruitment agencies for  (a) temporary and  (b) permanent staff in each year since 1997.

Jim Murphy: The recorded expenditure for agency staff for each financial year since 1997 is as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 1997-98 451,207 
			 1998-99 799,523 
			 1999-2000 971,657 
			 2000-01 1,584,850 
			 2001-02 2,434,202 
			 2002-03 3,230,264 
			 2003-04 2,357,123 
			 2004-05 1,110,154 
			 2005-06 2,298,906 
			 2006-07 3,344,461 
		
	
	Expenditure in respect of temporary and permanent agency staff is not recorded separately. The increase in expenditure in 2006-07 arose from the need to recruit temporary staff to assist Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Services to move to Trading Fund status, and to enable the FCO's account to be signed off earlier than in previous years.

Gaza: Travel Restrictions

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the Government have made to the Israeli authorities in the case of Khaled Mudallel on his return from Gaza to his business studies course at Bradford university.

Kim Howells: We raised this issue with the Israeli embassy in London on 15 October. The embassy told us that Mr. Mudallel has been advised that he can leave Gaza via the Nitzana Border Terminal.

Gaza: Travel Restrictions

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of British residency permit holders unable to leave Gaza due to official action.

Kim Howells: We have made no formal estimate. However, we are currently discussing the problem with our EU colleagues. We continue to raise concerns about movement and access with the Government for Israel.

Indian Sub-Continent: Entry Clearances

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many visa offices are operated by his Department in  (a) Bangladesh,  (b) India and  (c) Pakistan; and how many staff are employed in each of those offices to process visa applications.

Kim Howells: UKvisas has one Visa Section in Bangladesh, located at our high commission in Dhaka. There are four Visa Sections in India, located at our high commission in New Delhi and our deputy high commissions in Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. There are two Visa Sections in Pakistan, located at our high commission in Islamabad and our deputy high commission in Karachi.
	The following table displays the total number of staff employed at each of these Visa Sections to process visa applications. The figures include entry clearance managers, officers, assistants, local support staff and those on short-term contracts.
	
		
			  Staff employed at UK Visa Sections in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan 
			   Number 
			 New Delhi 100 
			 Mumbai 84 
			 Chennai 58 
			 Kolkata 6 
			 Dhaka 74 
			 Islamabad 206 
			 Karachi 13

Indian Sub-Continent: Entry Clearances

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many visa applications were processed by his Department in  (a) Bangladesh,  (b) India and  (c) Pakistan in each (i) year and (ii) month since 2001.

Kim Howells: The following table displays the total number of UK visa applications processed by our visa sections in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan in each year and month since April 2001.
	
		
			  Number of UK visa applications processed by our visa sections in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan 
			   April  May  June  July  August  September 
			 Bangladesh   
			 2001-02 1,994 2,809 2,817 3,595 2,978 2,750 
			 2002-03 1,914 2,473 2,477 3,309 3,419 3,712 
			 2003-04 2,324 2,881 3,590 4,215 3,881 4,274 
			 2004-05 3,285 3,920 5,144 4,996 4,822 4,133 
			 2005-06 2,915 3,691 4,176 3,358 4,246 3,554 
			 2006-07 4,011 4,500 4,195 4,297 4,530 3,633 
			 India   
			 2001-02 24,462 27,376 21,688 21,702 20,281 16,659 
			 2002-03 25,084 35,102 16,970 28,668 29,416 23,648 
			 2003-04 27,707 33,922 29,524 28,919 26,695 28,262 
			 2004-05 39,940 37,991 36,083 31,551 31,894 29,892 
			 2005-06 43,767 47,499 43,090 32,142 35,028 32,787 
			 2006-07 47,034 56,617 47,139 41,803 42,531 36,078 
			 Pakistan   
			 2001-02 11,637 17,214 17,250 15,043 12,819 8,099 
			 2002-03 4,717 9,403 473 8,091 5,959 6,113 
			 2003-04 9,245 11,057 10,289 11,897 9,151 8,992 
			 2004-05 17,831 24,621 29,556 19,010 17,592 12,612 
			 2005-06 15,674 18,932 21,297 15,721 14,948 13,215 
			 2006-07 17,047 22,538 25,726 22,611 22,332 16,346 
		
	
	
		
			   October  November  December  January  February  March  Total 
			 Bangladesh
			 2001-02 1,772 1,959 1,545 2,247 1,451 2,086 28,003 
			 2002-03 2,288 1,876 2,275 2,974 1,897 2,470 31,084 
			 2003-04 3,601 2,721 2,817 2,970 2,786 3,931 39,991 
			 2004-05 2,750 2,608 3,123 2,313 2,347 3,121 42,562 
			 2005-06 2,844 2,274 3,091 2,580 2,786 3,905 39,420 
			 2006-07 2,661 3,168 3,905 3,180 3,079 3,487 44,646 
			 India
			 2001-02 11,232 10,498 9,468 12,308 14,020 19,465 209,159 
			 2002-03 17,760 12,297 12,938 16,369 14,228 19,270 251,750 
			 2003-04 21,093 15,205 17,918 19,061 21,849 33,080 303,235 
			 2004-05 20,396 17,660 19,884 18,606 24,559 37,123 345,579 
			 2005-06 24,231 21,703 20,205 24,314 28,131 42,478 395,375 
			 2006-07 26,812 25,836 22,887 28,201 30,300 48,761 453,999 
			 Pakistan
			 2001-02 3,113 2,676 2,045 5,235 6,151 7,901 109,183 
			 2002-03 7,762 5,837 6,487 7,526 5,120 6,312 73,800 
			 2003-04 8,781 7,407 10,611 11,733 10,442 15,281 124,886 
			 2004-05 9,787 9,692 12,250 9,251 12,691 15,838 190,731 
			 2005-06 9,395 10,741 13,164 11,586 11,499 16,212 172,384 
			 2006-07 12,035 15,623 16,792 13,005 13,645 16,328 214,028

Indian Sub-Continent: Entry Clearances

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many visas have been  (a) issued and  (b) refused by his Department in (i) Bangladesh, (ii) India and (iii) Pakistan since 2001.

Kim Howells: The following table displays the total number of UK visa applications issued and refused by our visa sections in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan since 2001.
	
		
			   2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			   Issued  Refused  Issued  Refused  Issued  Refused  Issued  Refused  Issued  Refused 
			 Chennai 40,646 3,460 46,193 8,653 55,944 12,526 68,675 13,712 81,526 13,659 
			 Kolkata 9,907 199 10,776 329 11,813 880 13,155 1,101 14,923 979 
			 Mumbai 66,108 7,960 71,776 10,907 91,070 20,216 109,845 25,728 119,130 28,953 
			 New Delhi 64,343 12,517 67,948 19,753 81,479 25,013 88,862 32,363 100,893 33,079 
			 India 181,004 24,136 196,693 39,642 240,306 58,635 280,537 72,904 316,472 76,670 
			
			 Dhaka 19,896 7,671 21,504 10,658 21,748 11,914 20,837 19,153 27,554 16,543 
			 Bangladesh 19,896 7,671 21,504 10,658 21,748 11,914 20,837 19,153 27,554 16,543 
			
			 Islamabad 56,182 24,420 42,844 7,670 92,189 21,768 91,446 76,640 89,821 61,044 
			 Lahore(1) 8,289 2,549 — — — — — — — — 
			 Karachi 28,634 7,904 9,788 2,503 1,793 7 11,505 5,003 20,665 7,568 
			 Pakistan 93,105 34,873 52,632 10,173 93,982 21,775 102,951 81,643 110,486 68,612 
			 (1) The visa section at the British Trade Office in Lahore closed in 2002.  Source: UK Visas Published Entry Clearance Statistics from 2001-02 to 2005-06

Indian Sub-Continent: Entry Clearances

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what targets are set for the processing of visa applications by consular staff in  (a) Bangladesh,  (b) India and  (c) Pakistan.

Kim Howells: UKvisas does not set targets for its staff to process visa applications. Instead, UKvisas measures performance at all of its missions abroad against the following public service agreement (PSA) standards.
	PSA 1: 90 per cent. of straightforward non-settlement applications to be processed within 24-hours.
	PSA 2: 90 per cent. of non-settlement applications requiring further enquiries or interview to be processed within 15 days.
	PSA 3: 90 per cent of settlement applications to be processed within 12 weeks.

Iran: Religious Freedom

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Government of Iran on the persecution of the Baha'i community, with particular reference to young Baha'i people being allowed to attend university; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: We remain concerned about the treatment of religious minorities in Iran. The Baha'i faith is not formally recognised under the Iranian Constitution and as a result Baha'is routinely face persecution and discrimination. In recent years Baha'is have been subject to arbitrary arrests, confiscation of property and restrictions on employment. Denial of access to higher education has been a long-term problem for Baha'i students.
	After the religious identifier was removed from the national university entrance examination in 2006, a number of Baha'i students sat the exam for last academic year (2006-07). Over 250 Baha'i students were admitted to campuses across Iran, but 120 were expelled throughout the year as the universities discovered their religion. This year, students applying to study at technical and vocational institutes were required to complete a form stating their religion. The options did not include the Baha'i religion, so Baha'i students were once again effectively excluded from applying to these institutions. We do not yet know the situation facing Baha'i university students this academic year, but we remain concerned that more Baha'is may be prevented from applying to university or expelled in the future.
	We continue to monitor the situation and raise concerns about the treatment of the Baha'is with the Iranian authorities, bilaterally and through the EU. The EU presidency raised specific concerns about the issue of Baha'i access to higher education in meetings with the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 1 September and 10 October.

Iraq: Overseas Workers

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  how many UK citizens were employed by non-UK-based private contractors in Iraq not concerned with security matters in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many UK citizens were employed by non UK-based private security contractors in Iraq in each of the last five years;
	(3)  how many UK citizens were employed by UK-based private contractors in Iraq not concerned with security matters in each of the last five years.

Kim Howells: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not hold the information requested by the hon. Member.

Iraq: Overseas Workers

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  how many UK citizens working for UK-based private security contractors in Iraq were  (a) killed and  (b) injured in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many UK citizens working for non UK-based private security contractors in Iraq were  (a) killed and  (b) injured in each of the last five years;
	(3)  how many people employed by UK-based security contractors in Iraq were  (a) killed and  (b) injured in each of the last five years;
	(4)  how many people employed by UK-based contractors in Iraq not concerned with security matters were  (a) killed and  (b) injured in each of the last five years;
	(5)  how many UK citizens working for non UK-based contractors in Iraq not concerned with security matters were  (a) killed and  (b) injured in each of the last five years;
	(6)  how many UK citizens working for UK-based contractors in Iraq not concerned with security matters were  (a) killed and  (b) injured in each of the last five years.

Kim Howells: Our consular records show that at least 72 British civilians have died in Iraq since March 2003.
	2003—6
	2004—23
	2005—12
	2006—22
	2007—9
	This number includes deaths from natural causes but is not a definitive figure as records include only those cases where consular assistance has been sought. The figure does not include British dual nationals or unrepresented foreign nationals.
	We also have records of 78 British civilians who have been injured in Iraq over the same period.
	2003—7
	2004—30
	2005—15
	2006—1
	2007—15
	We do not collect data in a form which would enable us to distinguish between private security companies or other contractors nor the country of origin of those employers. Consular officials do not have accurate figures on non-British nationals in the above categories.

Iraq: Resettlement

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 9 October 2007,  Official Report, columns 27-8WS, on Iraq: assistance to locally employed staff, what his estimate is of the number of Iraqi nationals who  (a) work and  (b) have worked in Iraq as (i) direct employees of the UK armed forces or the Ministry of Defence, (ii) on letters of appointment from HM embassy Baghdad or the British embassy offices in Basra and the Kurdistan region and (iii) as direct employees of the Department for International Development or the British Council.

Kim Howells: holding answer 15 October 2007
	About 500 locally engaged staff currently work in Iraq as direct employees of the UK armed forces or the Ministry of Defence and a further 43 work on letters of appointment from our embassy in Baghdad and our embassy Offices in Basra or Erbil, the Department for International Development (DFID) and the British Council.
	About 20,000 have worked for the UK armed forces or the Ministry of Defence and a further 140 have worked on letters of appointment from our embassy in Baghdad, our embassy Offices in Basra or Erbil, DFID and the British Council.

Middle East: Peace Negotiations

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress is being made towards a peace settlement in the Middle East.

Kim Howells: In the run up to the November international meeting I believe that a window of opportunity now exists with: a continuing Israeli Prime Minister Olmert/Palestinian President Abbas dialogue; the right hon. Tony Blair's engagement; and a rejuvenated Arab Peace Initiative. We will continue to work with international partners to develop these proposals and move us closer to a two-state solution.
	We would like to see at the US-hosted November meeting, an agreement that puts the Israelis and Palestinians on a path to real negotiations in 2008 leading to a final settlement of two states living side by side in peace and security.

Saudi Arabia: Human Rights

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect of the signing of human rights agreements by Saudi Arabia on the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: Saudi Arabia is party to the following international instruments:
	Convention on the Rights of the Child;
	Convention on the Elimination of all forms of racial discrimination;
	Convention against torture; and
	International convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women.
	Saudi Arabia's human rights record is poor but improving. Complete implementation of these instruments continues to be a challenge. It is the role of the UN treaty monitoring bodies to assess how well a country is fulfilling its obligations under a treaty. The Government continue to work both bilaterally and with EU partners to encourage Saudi Arabia to fulfil its obligations and report on time.
	From April 2008 the UN Human Rights Council will be implementing periodic reviews on all the human rights records of all Member States.

Ukraine: Work Permits

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the average price was of a UK work visa from Ukraine in each year since 2003.

Kim Howells: The current fee for a Work Permit Holder visa application at our Visa Section in Kiev is £200. From 1 July 2005 to 31 March 2007, the fee for a Work Permit Holder visa was £85. Prior to this, Work Permit Holders paid the long-term non-settlement fee of £75.

TRANSPORT

A358

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 25 April 2007,  Official Report, column 1109W, on the A358, what discussions she has had with the  (a) Highways Agency and  (b) Regional Fire Control Centre at Blackbrook on the proposed scheme to link the A358 and M5 at Blackbrook in Taunton constituency; and what the outcome of those discussions was.

Rosie Winterton: The Highways Agency had a constructive meeting with the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and their consultants on 31 August 2007 to discuss the impact of the A303/A358 South Petherton to M5 Taunton Improvement scheme on the Fire Control Centre at Blackbrook.
	It was agreed that both parties should work together to resolve any issues. The Highways Agency have sent further information to DCLG to allow their consultants to update the risk assessment of the site.

A358

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 25 April 2007,  Official Report, column 1109W, on the A358, if she will take steps to make the Highways Agency report into alternative schemes to link the A358 and M5 at Blackbrook in Taunton constituency available to local residents; if she will undertake a further public consultation on the alternative schemes; and if she will place a copy of the report in the Library.

Rosie Winterton: In response to public feedback received during consultation, the Highways Agency is currently considering two alternative options to connect the M5 northbound and the A358 eastbound (Blackbrook loop). The outcome of this additional work will be included in an addendum to the public consultation report, which would be published in due course.
	Should it be considered necessary to amend the proposed scheme as a result of this further work then it is likely that further limited consultation would be undertaken.
	When the report is published it will be posted on the Highways Agency's website and be deposited in the local area for the public to view.

Airports: Passengers

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many passengers passed through  (a) Heathrow and  (b) Gatwick airports between April and September 2007; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The following table shows the number of terminal passengers at Heathrow and Gatwick airport in each month between April and September 2007.
	
		
			  Terminal passengers at Heathrow and Gatwick, April-September 2007 
			  Thousand 
			   Heathrow  Gatwick 
			 April 5,667 2,722 
			 May 5,611 3,012 
			 June 6,014 3,359 
			 July 6,419 3,787 
			 August(1) 6,378 3,969 
			 September(1) 6,022 3,550 
			 Total 36,111 20,400 
			 (1) August and September figures are provisional.  Source: CAA airport statistics.

Bus Services: Concessions

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how much has been allocated to Chorley borough council to fund the free local concessionary bus travel scheme in 2007-08;
	(2)  what increase in the rate support grant Chorley borough council will receive to fund free national off-peak travel for pensioners and disabled people for 2008-09.

Rosie Winterton: From April 2006, older and disabled people have been guaranteed free off-peak local bus travel within their local authority area. The existing funding for statutory concessionary fares is supported through Formula Grant, which comprises Revenue Support Grant, Redistributed Business Rates and Principal Formula Police Grant.
	Formula Grant is an unhypothecated block grant i.e. authorities are free to spend the money on any service. Because of this and the method of calculation, particularly floor damping (which guarantees local authorities at least a minimum percentage increase by scaling back increases for other authorities), it is not possible to say how much of the total Formula Grant funding is for any particular service.
	Local authorities have the discretion to offer (and fund from their own resources) enhancements to the statutory minimum, such as peak bus travel and/or concessions on other modes.
	The £212 million of extra funding to English authorities for the national bus concession from April 2008 will be distributed by a non-ringfenced special grant via a formula. The Department has recently published a consultation paper on the formula basis for distribution of the special grant. This new consultation supersedes the Department for Communities and Local Government's consultation on the formula grant options for concessionary fares. Local authorities have been asked to respond to the special grant consultation by 23 November.
	In addition, we have announced that we will be providing local authorities with approximately £30 million for the issuing of the national pass; it is likely that Chorley borough council will receive around £69,000 of this additional funding.

Cars: Hire Services

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many  (a) accidents and  (b) traffic offences occurred involving hire cars in Peterborough constituency in each of the last five years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The information requested is not available.

Crossrail Line

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether a financing agreement is in place for the Crossrail project.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 16 October 2007
	I refer the right hon. Member to the White Paper for the 2007 pre-Budget report and Comprehensive Spending Review presented to Parliament by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 9 October 2007.

Crossrail Line

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will place a copy in the Library of the financial agreement on Crossrail.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Subject to commercial confidentiality, the Secretary of State expects to place relevant agreements in the Library in due course.

Departments: General Elections

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what contingency preparations her Department made for the possibility of a general election in autumn 2007; and what the costs were of those preparations.

Jim Fitzpatrick: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend, the Minister for the Cabinet Office and the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Edward Miliband) on 15 October 2007,  Official Report, columns 822-23W.

Motorcycles: Accidents

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many accidents there have been involving  (a) motorcyclists,  (b) bicycles and  (c) only motorcyclists and bicyclists in each year since 1997.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The number of reported personal injury road accidents involving at least  (a) one motorcyclist,  (b) one pedal cyclist and  (c) no other vehicles or pedestrians but at least one motorcyclist and at least one pedal cyclist, in each year since 1997 is shown in the table—note that  (c) is included in both  (a) and  (b).
	
		
			   Number of accidents involving at least one: 
			   Motorcycle  Pedal cycle  Motorcycle and pedal cycle only 
			 1997 24,928 24,705 5,850 
			 1998 23,188 24,969 5,649 
			 1999 23,221 26,537 5,945 
			 2000 20,866 28,635 6,051 
			 2001 19,316 29,398 6,067 
			 2002 17,373 28,825 5,691 
			 2003 17,300 28,721 5,931 
			 2004 16,922 26,151 5,526 
			 2005 16,856 25,204 4,799 
			 2006 16,440 23,730 4,734

Railways: Rolling Stock

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many of the extra rail carriages announced by her Department in the five-year plan published on 24 July have been introduced; and on which lines.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The extra rail carriages are to be introduced in stages between 2009 and 2014.

Roads: Accidents

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road traffic accidents in each of the last five years involved children; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The number of reported personal injury road accidents involving at least one child casualty (aged 0 to 15) for each of the last five years is:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2002 30,430 
			 2003 28,264 
			 2004 27,253 
			 2005 24,837 
			 2006 22,676 
		
	
	In 2000, the Government set a PSA target to achieve a 50 per cent. reduction in the number of children aged 0 to 15 killed or seriously injured by 2010, compared with the average for 1994-98. 3,294 children were killed or seriously injured in Great Britain in 2006, which is 52 per cent. below the 1994-98 average of 6,860. In February 2007 we issued a new child road safety strategy, which sets out further measures to improve child road safety.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Child Support Agency: Debt Collection

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many liability orders the Child Support Agency has applied for in each month since January 2003; how many of these were inaccurate in any particular; and how many were  (a) withdrawn and  (b) dismissed.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 17 October 2007:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions regarding the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many liability orders the Child Support Agency has applied for in each month since January 2003; how many of these were inaccurate in any particular; and how many were (a) withdrawn and (b) dismissed. (146178)
	Such information as is available is set out in the attached table. The Agency holds information on; the number of liability orders it has applied for, the numbers subsequently granted as well as information on the numbers of applications withdrawn by the Agency pre and post hearing and the numbers of cases dismissed by the Courts. This information is recorded and validated on a yearly basis only. The Agency currently does not hold management information on the accuracy of individual elements of child maintenance cases such as the liability order process.
	Information on a range of enforcement actions is routinely published in the Quarterly Summary of Statistics (QSS). A copy of this is available in the House of Commons Library and is also available on the Internet via the following link:
	www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/child_support/csa_quarterly_jun07.asp
	The Agency seeks liability orders in cases where the non-resident parent is failing to meet their responsibilities to maintain their children. In many cases, as the non-resident parent may not have co-operated fully in the assessment and calculation of their maintenance liability, the Agency will proceed on the basis of the information available. As the Agency will continue to correspond with the non-resident parent throughout the time taken for a liability order to be granted, the non-resident parent can at any time supply information which may lead to a review of the maintenance assessment, or indeed make payments to comply with the maintenance liability. In addition, in some cases the parent with care can request that any maintenance owed directly to them not be recovered, the Agency will then consider withdrawing the liability order application prior to the court hearing.
	Once a liability order is being actively considered by the Court, the non-resident parent can make representations for the Court to dismiss the liability order. The Courts currently dismiss less than one per cent of applications. The Agency believes that this is a good indication of the robustness of the checking regime currently in place. Finally, once a liability order has been awarded, the non-resident parent can again bring forward additional information, or indeed settle their arrears and the Agency may again consider whether it is appropriate to proceed with the application.
	It should therefore be noted that there are many reasons that the Agency may withdraw a liability order application, however the Agency currently does not record individual reasons an application may be withdrawn. The most relevant measure of the accuracy of the Agency's process is therefore the low numbers of cases dismissed by the Courts, following representations from the non-resident parent.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.
	
		
			   Applied for  Withdrawn pre-hearing  Dismissed  Granted  Withdrawn post-hearing 
			 2002-03 5,540 202 69 2,383 — 
			 2003-04 6,719 285 71 3,885 — 
			 2004-05 10,483 467 16 7,760 199 
			 2005-06 11,926 882 49 *11,245 262 
			 2006-07 15,309 1,212 50 *13,335 232 
			  Notes: 1. A liability order is a document obtained from the court showing that they legally recognise the debt. This is the same in both England and Wales, and Scotland and is required before the Agency can use litigation powers (Diligence in Scotland). 2. The figures marked with an asterix* are sourced from the Agency's Quarterly Summary of Statistics. All other figures have been clerically collated and are actual figures, not subject to rounding. 3. Figures sourced from the Agency's Quarterly Summary Statistics are rounded to the nearest five. 4. Robust information on the numbers of liability order withdrawn post-hearing is unavailable prior to April 2004. 5. Due to differences in the Scottish legal system, cases classified by the Agency as withdrawn pre-hearing are classified by the courts as dismissed. 6. It should be noted that for any period, the number of liability orders applied for will not directly relate to the number of applications granted as the process can take many weeks to complete. Liability orders applied for in one period may not be granted until the following period.

Child Support Agency: Debt Collection

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total value is of the contracts the Child Support Agency (CSA) has with external debt collectors; how much has been paid to date under such contracts; with which debt collectors the CSA has contracts; how many cases they are handling; what the average debt outstanding on transfer to the external debt collectors is; how many cases they have successfully recovered outstanding debt from  (a) in full and  (b) in part; and what average sum has been recovered.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 17 October 2007:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the total value is of the contracts the Child Support Agency (CSA) has with external debt collectors; how much has been paid to date under such contracts; with which debt collectors the CSA has contracts; how many cases they are handling; what the average debt outstanding on transfer to the external debt collectors is; how many cases they have successfully recovered outstanding debt from (a) in full and (b) in part; and what average sum has been recovered.
	The Agency has a current contract with two debt collection agencies, Eversheds LLP and iQor. The contract with both of these debt collection agencies has been let on a commission basis and the final value of the contract will be dependent on the amount of debt collected by them. Up to 31 August 2007, the Agency has paid over £360,000 to the debt collection agencies under this contract.
	As at 31 August 2007, the Agency has referred over 59,000 cases to the debt collection agencies with an average debt value of £5,250. Of these, the agencies have collected debt in over 12,000 cases, from which 2,003 non-resident parents have paid their child support maintenance debt in full, with the average collection being £444.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Child Support Agency: Manpower

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the likely impact of proposed reductions in staffing of the Child Support Agency (CSA) on the effectiveness of the CSA and its successor the Child Maintenance and Support Commission.

James Plaskitt: The Agency is committed to meeting both the departmentally agreed headcount target of 9,547 by March 2008 and the Secretary of State performance targets for the coming year. Computer system improvements as part of the Agency's Operational Improvement Plan will ensure client service in both CSA, and later C-MEC, will not be affected by this reduction in headcount.

Child Support Agency: Standards

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the Belfast unit of the Child Support Agency over the last  (a) six months and  (b) year in handling claims involving children from Northamptonshire.

James Plaskitt: holding answer 10 September 2007
	 The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 17 October 2007:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the Belfast unit of the Child Support Agency over the last (a) six months and (b) year in handling claims involving children from Northamptonshire.
	Such information as is available for Northamptonshire cases is set out in tables S1a to S4b of the Child Support Agency Quarterly Summary of Statistics (QSS). Unfortunately, these tables have recently been added and only give information back to December 2006. These tables show that at end of June 2007 the compliance rate for the Nottinghamshire area is 67%, slightly above that of the national average of 66%. The Child Support Agency Quarterly Summary of Statistics is available in the House of Commons Library or on the Internet via the following link: www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/child_support/csa_quarterly_jun07.asp.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Children: Maintenance

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the proportion of HM Revenue and Customs gross income data which will be  (a) less than one year out of date,  (b) more than one year out of date and  (c) more than two years out of date when calculating child maintenance under the new Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: Under the proposed scheme, non-resident parents' maintenance liabilities will be based on their gross income for the latest tax year available from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs at the time that a case is opened or is subject to an annual review.
	With the increased focus on parents agreeing to voluntary arrangements and the ending of the requirement that parents with care on benefit be treated as applying for child maintenance, not all of the current Child Support Agency case load will choose to use the statutory maintenance service. Since we do not know the precise composition of the resulting case load, no estimates have been made on the proportion of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs gross income data which will be  (a) less than one year out of date,  (b) more than one year out of date and  (c) more than two years out of date when calculating child maintenance under the new Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.

Children: Maintenance

Anne Moffat: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps the Department is taking to enable the recovery of historical debt of non-resident parents by the new Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.

James Plaskitt: holding answer 8 October 2007
	We want to take firm action at the earliest opportunity against non-resident parents who do not fulfil their responsibility to pay maintenance.
	The Child Support Agency has already begun to improve the recovery of debt as part of the Operational Improvement Plan and is committed to recovering over £200 million historic debt by 2009.
	The Commission will build on the current Child Support Agency debt strategy and the success of the Operational Improvement Plan. Through the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill we intend to strengthen the range of enforcement and debt management powers that will be at the disposal of the Commission. The Bill proposes new and streamlined enforcement provisions such as administrative liability orders, disqualification from holding or obtaining a travel authorisation, collection of maintenance directly from accounts held by financial institutions, enforcing the surrender of a non-resident parent's passport and imposing a curfew.
	New debt management powers, such as the ability to accept part payment of arrears in full and final settlement, will, where appropriate, take account of the wishes of the parent with care. These powers will help the Commission manage debt, including interim maintenance assessment debt. The new debt management and enforcement measures will be used both to encourage ongoing compliance to prevent the new debt building up, and to enable more of the accumulated debt to be recovered.

Children: Maintenance

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many children he estimates will be taken out of poverty when the new £40 disregard for child maintenance is introduced.

Caroline Flint: We estimate that around 50,000 children will be lifted out of poverty by increasing the child maintenance disregard to £40 a week from April 2010.

Commission for Equality and Human Rights: Manpower

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what representations he has received on staffing levels at the Commission for Equality and Human Rights; and if he will make a statement.

Barbara Follett: holding answer 15 October 2007
	 The Equality and Human Rights Commission currently plans to employ approximately 500 staff. There is no intention to make a statement.

Departments: Consultants

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which private consultancy firms  (a) his Department and  (b) agencies which report to his Department engaged in each of the last three years; which programmes or projects each firm worked on; and what the approximate cost to the Department or agency concerned was of each engagement.

Anne McGuire: The details of consultancy engagements and related costs by all projects across the Department for Work and Pensions and all its agencies over the last three years are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. A particular exercise to obtain this information for the 12 projects with the largest engagement with consultancy firms over the last three years has been conducted and the results are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Consultancy firm  Project title  Approximate value  (£ million) 
			 IBM Finance Transformation Programme 63 
			 Booz Allen Hamilton Pensions Transformation Programme 55 
			 Capgemini Programme and Systems Delivery Transformation 26 
			 PA Consulting Payment Modernisation Programme 25 
			 Capgemini HR Modernisation 17 
			 Capgemini DCS Change Programme 16 
			 Capgemini DWP Change Programme 7 
			 Deloitte PSD Transformation Support—network services integration 7 
			 Deloitte PSD Transformation Support—network services integration 6 
			 Atos Origin Finance Transformation/Procurement Modernisation 6 
			 PA Consulting JCP and DCS Integrated Delivery 6 
			 Deloitte Central Payment System Programme 5

Departments: Dismissal

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many departmental staff have been dismissed for gross misconduct in each of the last five years.

Anne McGuire: The information on the number of people dismissed for gross misconduct for the period July 2003 to March 2007 is shown in the following table.
	No information is available for the period before July 2003.
	Information for the period from April 2007 to March 2008 is not available.
	
		
			  Number of employees dismissed in Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for gross misconduct 
			   Number of employees 
			 July 2003 to March 2004 53 
			 April 2004 to March 2005 223 
			 April 2005 to March 2006 227 
			 April 2006 to March 2007 121

Jobcentre Plus: Doctors

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many complaints were received about doctors contracted to Jobcentre Plus to carry out incapacity benefit assessments, in each of the last five years, broken down by local benefits agency; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: holding answer 10 September 2007
	Medical services are provided to DWP under contract by Atos Healthcare. Doctors carrying out incapacity benefit (IB) assessments are engaged by Atos Healthcare not Jobcentre Plus.
	Atos Healthcare only began keeping records of complaints received by local benefits office in 2004 and by Jobcentre Plus region in 2005. Information about the number of complaints received per Medical Services Centre, relating to IB is in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of complaints received per Medical Services Centre relating to IB 
			  Medical Services Centre  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007( 1)  Grand total 
			 Birmingham 62 71 78 88 23 27 349 
			 Bootle 105 114 91 89 51 33 483 
			 Bristol 54 70 47 43 29 28 271 
			 Croydon 116 89 95 71 45 37 453 
			 Cardiff 49 60 56 32 25 22 244 
			 Edinburgh 36 21 31 36 9 14 147 
			 Glasgow 98 78 67 50 27 28 348 
			 Leeds 102 116 113 89 59 41 520 
			 Manchester 77 61 50 37 25 15 265 
			 Newcastle 78 82 105 63 40 25 393 
			 Nottingham 89 56 63 60 70 50 388 
			 Wembley 107 138 125 110 50 49 579 
			 Customer relations team 86 35 32 37 33 20 243 
			 Total complaints 1,059 991 953 805 486 389 4,653 
			 Total IB examinations 522,803 507,479 461,000 485,237 499,895 358,207 2,834,621 
			 Percentage complaints/examinations 0.20 0.19 0.21 0.17 0.10 0.11 0.16 
			 (1) January to August  Note: The last row of the table indicates the number of 'Official Correspondence' complaints that the Customer Relations Team received, which are not differentiated by Medical Services Centre.

Jobcentre Plus: Doctors

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many doctors contracted to Jobcentre Plus to carry out incapacity benefit assessments were removed from their role in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many doctors contracted to Jobcentre Plus to carry out incapacity benefit assessments resigned in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: holding answer 10 September 2007
	Medical services are provided to DWP under contract by Atos Healthcare. Doctors carrying out incapacity benefit (IB) assessments are engaged by Atos Healthcare not Jobcentre Plus. The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of doctors carrying out IB assessments who have resigned, retired or whose approval has been revoked 
			   2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Resigned 22 68 93 65 47 
			 Retire 4 21 13 8 6 
			 Approval revoked 10 31 15 16 7

National Insurance

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the surplus is in the National Insurance Fund; what surplus he expects to be in that fund for each of the next five years; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested is shown in paragraph 4 and Appendix 9 of the Report by the Government Actuary on the drafts of the Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order 2007 and the Social Security (Contributions) (Re-rating and National insurance Funds Payments) Order 2007.

National Insurance: Bexleyheath

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many national insurance numbers were issued to residents of Bexleyheath and Crayford in 2006-07.

James Plaskitt: 2,731 national insurance numbers were issued to residents of Bexleyheath and Crayford between 1 April 2006 and 31 March 2007.

National Insurance: Foreigners

Michael Howard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many foreign nationals in the Shepway district were issued with national insurance numbers in  (a) the last year for which figures are available and  (b) each of the preceding four years.

James Plaskitt: Information is not available on how many national insurance numbers were issued. The available information on the numbers of registrations for national insurance numbers is in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of national insurance numbers registered to foreign nationals in Shepway local authority area 
			  Year of registration  Number of registrations 
			 2004-05 410 
			 2005-06 670 
			 2006-07 900 
			  Notes: 1. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 3. Local authority is assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant postcode directory. 4. Local authority counts are based on the most recently recorded addresses of the NINO recipient. 5. Information is not available prior to 2004-05.  Source: 100 per cent. sample at 25 June 2005, 17 June 2006 and 14 May 2007 from the National Insurance Recording System

Pensions

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the yearly value in absolute terms was of the standard basic state pension for  (a) a pensioner couple and  (b) a single pensioner, excluding winter fuel and over-75 payments, in each year since 1997-98.

Mike O'Brien: The information is in the following table.
	
		
			   Pensioner couple  Single pensioner 
			 1997-98 5,189.60 3,247.40 
			 1998-99 5,376.80 3,364.40 
			 1999-2000 5,548.40 3,471.00 
			 2000-01 5,610.80 3,510.00 
			 2001-02 6,026.80 3,770.00 
			 2002-03 6,276.40 3,926.00 
			 2003-04 6,437.60 4,027.40 
			 2004-05 6,617.00 4,139.20 
			 2005-06 6,822.40 4,266.60 
			 2006-07 7,007.00 4,381.00 
			 2007-08 7,259.20 4,539.60 
			  Notes:  1. The figure for each year is its cash value.  2. There are no singles or couples rates as such. The basic state pension is an individual benefit; although the Category A rate is commonly referred to as the singles rate, and the combination of the Category A and Category B rate is commonly referred to as the couples rate.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Animal Experiments

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department at how many of the establishments in the UK with a certificate of designation under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 there is at least one member of the animal care staff or licensee constantly on site.

Meg Hillier: holding answer 15 October 2007
	 The information requested is not held by the Home Office.
	Primary responsibility for animals used in regulated procedures rests with the personal licensee concerned. Under personal licence standard conditions 12 and 15 set out in Appendix E to the published Guidance on the Operation of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (HC321) the personal licensee must ensure that animals are properly monitored and cared for and that suitable arrangements exist for the care and welfare of any animals during any period when the personal licensee is not in attendance.
	In addition, certificate of designation standard conditions 4 and 9 set out in Appendix B to the guidance require that establishments must be appropriately staffed at all times to ensure the well-being of the protected animals and that they must be provided with adequate care and accommodation appropriate to their type or species. Further requirements are set out in certificate of designation standard conditions 10 and 12.
	In practice, professional judgment is exercised on a case-by-case basis by the personal licensee, named veterinary surgeon and named animal care and welfare officer to decide the level of care to be provided, which could involve 24-hour monitoring.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been sentenced to custody for breach of an antisocial behaviour order.

Jacqui Smith: The latest data available on sentencing for breach of an ASBO relate to 2000 to 2003. These show that of the 793 people found guilty of breach of ASBO 134 were sentenced to custody for breach of ASBO alone—in all other cases, they were convicted for other offences at the same time.

Asylum

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) principal applicants and  (b) dependants have been admitted to the United Kingdom under the Gateway Refugee Resettlement Programme in each year since the scheme commenced.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 15 October 2007
	The Gateway Protection Programme became operational in the financial year 2004-05 when 64 principal applicants and 86 dependants were admitted to the UK. In 2005-06 56 principal applicants and 192 dependants were admitted and in 2006-07 139 principal applicants and 368 dependants were admitted to the UK under the Gateway resettlement programme.

Asylum

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what quota the Government set for the maximum number of admissions under the Gateway Refugee Resettlement Programme in each year since the scheme commenced; and what quotas have been set for future years.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 15 October 2007
	Since the Gateway Protection Programme commenced in 2004 the Government have set the quota at 500 refugees per financial year. The Government have not yet set the quota for future years.

Asylum: Iraq

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance she has issued to the Borders and Immigration Agency on how to handle applications for exceptional leave to remain in Britain from Iraqi nationals who have worked in Iraq for the UK armed forces or the British Government in one or more of the categories set out in the written statement by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of 9 October 2007,  Official Report, columns 27-8WS, on Iraq: assistance to locally employed staff.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 15 October 2007
	The Foreign Secretary announced on 8 October 2007 the criteria under which current locally engaged staff who had worked for HMG in Iraq would be eligible for referral for exceptional leave to enter the UK. Officials are currently working up the guidance to be issued to the Border and Immigration Agency staff dealing with the cases.

Asylum: Parents

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases remain to be determined under the initiative announced on 24 October 2003 on the right to remain of asylum seekers with children.

Liam Byrne: The number of cases identified for consideration up to 31 March 2007 (the last quarter for which information is available) was 61,485 of which 61,135 were determined leaving 350 cases outstanding.

BAE Systems: USA

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reason her Department has not yet complied with the request for mutual legal assistance from the United States in relation to its investigation into BAE Systems; and when she expects her Department to comply with this request.

Meg Hillier: holding answer 15 October 2007
	 The request is receiving careful consideration. It is not appropriate to speculate on a time scale for a decision on its execution.

Border and Immigration Agency: Information Officers

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) national and  (b) regional press officers were employed by the Border and Immigration Agency and its predecessor, the Immigration and Nationality Directorate, in each of the last 10 years.

Liam Byrne: Between 2000 and 2004, one Chief Immigration Officer was usually attached to the Home Office press office as part of a rolling secondment programme.
	In 2004, the secondment programme was discontinued and instead IND funded until January 2007 the salary of an additional permanent Government information officer based in the Home Office press office to work on immigration issues.
	Since February 2007, IND/BIA has funded the salaries of three Government information officers based in the Home Office press office.
	BIA has since April 2007 funded the recruitment and appointment of five new information officers and one senior information officer to work to each of the regional directors.

Consultants: Costs

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which private consultancy firms  (a) her Department and  (b) agencies which report to her Department engaged in each of the last three years; which programmes or projects each firm worked on; and what the approximate cost to the Department or agency concerned was of each engagement.

Liam Byrne: The Home Department engages consultancy firms to support and augment civil servants in the delivery of a specific range of work, including large IT development programmes and where more cost-effective, longer term service delivery programmes.
	The Department's expenditure on these services is allocated across a very wide range of firms, ranging from small, specialist companies with niche expertise and few employees, to global multinational organisations offering a broad spectrum and substantial depth of consultancy expertise.
	The Department awards contracts in competition according to the EU procurement regulations based on best value for money. The Department uses OGC framework agreements where appropriate. The use of external consultants in the Home Office provides the Department with specialist knowledge, skills, capacity and technical expertise that would not otherwise be available to it. Some of the expenditure is on consultants to whom we have outsourced services, such as IT.
	The information held by the Home Department on its spend on consultancy and professional legal services is as follows:
	2004-05: centrally held data are not available on a like-for-like basis, owing to a change in financial recording systems in that period.
	2005-06: consultancy: £137 million; legal; £21 million: total: £158 million.
	2006-07: consultancy: £148 million; legal: £28 million; total: £176 million.
	2007-08: during the current financial year, the Home Department is refining and improving its approach to the management of consultancy spend including a more rigorous demand management and approval process. Year to date figures indicate a reduction in spend which we are forecasting to be maintained throughout the current financial year.
	The breakdown across agencies and the Department are as follows.
	A breakdown of expenditure by engagement by company is not held centrally and to attempt to assemble it would incur disproportionate cost. The top 10 companies by total expenditure across the Home Office in the last three years are as follows. The companies are listed in alphabetical order; the amount spent with each company is not shown on grounds of commercial confidentiality.
	
		
			  Table 1: Home Department expenditure with consultancy companies for 2005-06 and 2006-07 
			   Borders and Immigration Agency  Home Office  Identity and Passport Service  Total 
			  2005-06 
			 Consultancy 54 74 9 137 
			 Legal 17 4 0 21 
			 Total 71 78 9 158 
			  
			  2006-07 
			 Consultancy 44 74 30 148 
			 Legal 23 5 0 28 
			 Total 67 79 30 176 
		
	
	 Top 10 companies by total expenditure across the Home Office in the last three years
	Cap Gemini
	Capita Resourcing Ltd.
	Deloitte
	Drivers Jonas
	Hedra BearingPoint
	IBM
	LogicaCMG
	PA Consulting Group
	Parity Resources
	Siemens Business Services Ltd.

Detention Centres: Hunger Strikes

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many detainees in immigration detention centres went on hunger strike in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what guidance has been issued to immigration detention centres on how to deal with those on hunger strike.

Jacqui Smith: We only record detainees who have refused to eat the meals provided. The information requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	It is normal procedure to place a detainee on a missed meals log if they have missed four consecutive meals, not including breakfast, as this allows staff to monitor their health and welfare to ensure they receive appropriate treatment where necessary.
	Detention Services Order 07-2004 was issued to immigration removal centres on how to deal with those on hunger strike. A copy has been placed in the House Library.

European Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings

Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make a statement on the timetable for the UK's ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on Trafficking of Human Beings.

Liam Byrne: The Government are determined to ratify the Convention as soon as we can but are determined to get the arrangements right before doing so. We need to be compliant with the Convention before formal ratification. Some of the other signatories to the Convention have legal systems that allow or require ratification before implementation—ours does not. The UK is already largely compliant with the Convention but some amendments to primary/secondary legislation will be required, as will the development of guidance and the institution of new processes. A dedicated project team within the Border and Immigration Agency is leading delivery of the changes needed to comply with the Convention and is reporting regularly to a cross-government official project board and Ministerial Group. Action against trafficking is continuing and is not on hold pending ratification. During the ongoing, police-led anti-trafficking operation, Pentameter 2 we are piloting an identification process and a 30-day reflection period, as required by Article 10 and 13 of the Convention.

Forensic Science Service

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to re-organise the Government's Forensic Service.

Meg Hillier: The Forensic Science Service was an Executive agency of the Home Office until December 2005 when it was vested as a Government-owned limited company (GovCo). In accordance with commitments given to Parliament in March 2006, I am currently considering whether there should be a further change of status, and if so, what that status should be. I hope to be in a position to make an in principle decision by the end of the year.

Immigration Officers: Airports

Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she has plans to increase the number of staff on duty at immigration counters at UK airports.

Liam Byrne: We are currently recruiting 118 additional immigration officers at UK airports.
	We deploy staff based on published flight schedules and anticipated passenger loads as this is the most effective way to ensure prudent spending of public money. We do not allocate resources based on the number of desks a port operator makes available as this would lead to staff being completely unoccupied for significant periods of their working day. We take a number of measures at peak times to ensure that maximum numbers of staff are available.
	This year these measures include:
	The re-deployment of mobile search teams to the front-line;
	The re-deployment of staff from support functions such as passenger caseworking

Legislation

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criminal offences have been created by each Act sponsored by her Department since May 1997.

Jacqui Smith: In the period since 1997, the Home Office has had responsibility for a wide range of subjects, including electoral law, data protection, licensing, police, prisons, criminal law and criminal justice, as well as immigration, serious crime and terrorism, and brought forward legislation on these issues as appropriate. In some cases, the legislation created new offences; in other cases, it re-enacted, or gave statutory form to, existing offences, sometimes with modifications to their extent or scope.
	A list of all criminal offences created in all Acts sponsored by the Home Office since 1997 is not held centrally, and could be produced only at disproportionate cost in time and resources.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to answer the letter of 9 August from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on Mr. Larry Allen.

Jacqui Smith: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 11 October 2007.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to answer the letter of 6 August from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on Mr. M. Sultan.

Jacqui Smith: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 4 September 2007.

Police: South West Region

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the Government funding provision was  (a) in total and  (b) per capita for police services in (i) Devon and Cornwall and (ii) England and Wales in each year since 1979.

Tony McNulty: The information requested where available is set out in the following table.
	Information from before 1995-96 is unreliable due to the changed structures of police authorities.
	We do not distribute grant to police authorities purely on the basis of population. The police funding formula uses a range of socio-demographic data to reflect the relative needs of each authority. Grant allocations also take into account the relative resources of each authority. Grant allocations are stabilised by damping changes to limit year-on-year variations. Devon and Cornwall actually receives £1.9 million more than it would on a strict application of the funding formula.
	
		
			  Government funding provision for police services from 1995-96 to 2006-07 
			  £ million 
			   Police authority 
			  Funding provision  Devon and Cornwall  England and Wales( 1) 
			  Government grant( 2,)( )( 3)   
			 1995-96 122.92 5,538.60 
			 1996-97 129.31 5,746.29 
			 1997-98 132.97 5,861.23 
			 1998-99 141.09 6,050.55 
			 1999-2000 146.70 6,185.59 
			 2000-01 152.88 4,737.60 
			 2001-02 163.44 5,038.79 
			 2002-03 167.49 5,173.15 
			 2003-04 174.26 5,548.65 
			 2004-05 180.29 5,770.08 
			 2005-06 189.16 6,075.37 
			
			  Government grant( 2,)( )( 3,)( )( 4)   
			 2006-07 190.95 6,215.54 
			 2007-08 199.38 6,425.25 
			 (1) The data for Metropolitan Police Authority from 2000-01 onwards are not available as they are collected as consolidated data from GLA. (2) Revenue funding includes all grants inside Aggregate External Finance (AEF) (i.e. revenue grants paid for councils' core services), and includes formula grant and all specific grants. (3) Welsh Government Grant includes Home Office Police Grant, floor funding and additional support provided to ensure Welsh police authorities receive at least a minimum in grant in line with English authorities. (4) 2006-07 Government grant figures are provisional outturn figures. 2007-08 figures are budget figures.  Source: DCLG—English Police Authorities/WAG—Welsh Police Authorities. Population figures sourced by DCLG from ONS (2006-07 and 2007-08 figures are projected).

Police: South West Region

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the gross revenue expenditure for police authorities per capita was in  (a) Devon and Cornwall and  (b) England and Wales in (i) 2005-06, (ii) 2006-07 and (iii) 2007-08.

Tony McNulty: We do not distribute grant to police authorities purely on the basis of population. The police funding formula uses a range of socio- demographic data to reflect the relative needs of each authority. Grant allocations also take into account the relative resources of each authority. Grant allocations are stabilised by damping changes to limit year-on-year variations. Devon and Cornwall actually receives £1.9 million more than it would on a strict application of the funding formula.
	
		
			  Gross revenue expenditure per capita 2005-06 to 2007-08 
			   Devon and Cornwall  England and Wales 
			 2005-06 177.76 234.20 
			 2006-07 164.37 230.77 
			 2007-08 174.83 234.53 
			  Source:  Gross Revenue Expenditure—Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy Police Statistics (Estimates for 2006-07 and 2007-08) Resident Population—Department for Communities and Local Government.

Work Permits

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 9 October 2007, to question 149263, on work permits, if she will give a breakdown of the 20 non-EU nationalities receiving the most work permits for (i) doctors and (ii) nurses in each of the last 10 years.

Liam Byrne: The tables show the number of approved work permit applications that were issued to the top 20 non-EU nationality recipients of work permits (and others) for (i) doctors (table 1) and (ii) nurses (table 2) during the period 1999 to 2006. Data for 1997 and 1998 are not available. There have been no approvals for auxiliary nurses during this period.
	The figures quoted are not provided under National Statistics protocols and have been derived from local management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change.
	
		
			  Table 1: work permits issued to doctors in the top 20 non-EU countries from 1999-2006 
			  Non-EU state  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  Total 
			 India 60 200 610 955 1,585 2,325 2,060 1,740 9,535 
			 South Africa 40 95 370 1,005 755 565 300 265 3,390 
			 Pakistan 15 60 140 215 290 475 425 375 1,995 
			 China Peoples Republic of 5 40 110 140 170 160 200 215 1,040 
			 Egypt 10 20 100 115 115 120 85 85 655 
			 Nigeria 5 30 55 65 80 95 100 125 550 
			 Sri Lanka * * 20 55 65 110 110 120 485 
			 Australia * 10 60 75 85 80 60 65 435 
			 Malaysia * 5 20 55 55 65 75 135 405 
			 Libya 5 20 35 55 60 45 50 30 300 
			 Syrian Arab Republic 0 5 25 30 55 55 55 40 265 
			 Myanmar 0 * 15 15 55 50 75 35 255 
			 Trinidad and Tobago * 5 20 35 45 45 30 40 230 
			 Sudan 5 15 20 35 45 45 35 30 230 
			 Iran 0 0 5 10 20 40 40 55 170 
			 New Zealand 0 5 25 25 30 20 15 15 135 
			 Bangladesh 5 5 10 20 20 20 20 30 125 
			 Jordan * 0 5 10 20 30 30 30 125 
			 Zimbabwe 0 * 5 15 20 30 25 20 120 
			 Iraq 5 5 5 10 25 15 25 30 120 
			 Others 10 65 145 180 230 295 255 350 1,525 
			 Total 170 580 1,805 3,120 3,820 4,690 4,070 3,830 22,090 
			 * = Indicates one or two.  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to nearest five. 2. Because of rounding, figures may not add up to totals shown. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: work permits issued to nurses in the top 20 non-EU countries from 1999-2006 
			  Non-EU state  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  Total 
			 Philippines 575 6,760 10,440 11,145 10,960 8,875 4,870 2,840 56,460 
			 India 70 915 2,790 3,935 5,475 7,265 7,230 4,440 32,120 
			 South Africa 415 1,755 2,750 3,410 3,365 2,895 2,010 1,135 17,730 
			 Zimbabwe 275 1,165 1,915 2,700 2,730 2,980 2,330 1,610 15,705 
			 Nigeria 250 925 1,165 1,720 1,335 1,345 1,165 600 8,505 
			 Ghana 50 310 530 635 770 745 650 290 3,980 
			 Australia 80 505 620 555 530 440 370 300 3,400 
			 Pakistan 10 85 410 455 415 515 515 290 2,700 
			 Mauritius 55 200 320 375 430 460 350 175 2,365 
			 Zambia 25 150 345 430 430 385 350 195 2,315 
			 Trinidad and Tobago 165 440 390 360 310 255 190 110 2,215 
			 Kenya 20 115 275 395 385 390 255 145 1,980 
			 Jamaica 85 320 310 260 190 220 240 145 1,775 
			 New Zealand 45 235 285 265 220 180 115 85 1,430 
			 Guyana 10 35 80 120 160 295 225 180 1,110 
			 China Peoples Republic of 5 60 105 90 130 160 130 105 790 
			 Botswana * 35 115 110 105 125 140 70 705 
			 Malawi 10 40 95 115 120 115 125 70 700 
			 Malaysia 40 140 135 120 75 70 60 40 685 
			 Nepal 5 15 45 70 90 155 150 150 680 
			 Others 235 925 1,230 1,465 1,370 1,305 1,200 705 8,435 
			 Total 2,430 15,130 24,355 28,740 29,590 29,180 22,670 13,685 165,780 
			 * = Indicates one or two.  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to nearest five. 2. Because of rounding, figures may not add up to totals shown.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Departments: General Elections

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Leader of the House what contingency preparations her Office made for the possibility of a general election in autumn 2007; and what the costs of those preparations were.

Helen Goodman: The guidance covering the conduct of official business during a general election was last issued in May 2005. This guidance, and other relevant procedures and processes, are kept under constant review by the Cabinet Office and other relevant departments so that they are ready to be put in place when a general election is called.

DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Council Tax

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the armed forces are entitled to the council tax exemption on his Department's homes.

Derek Twigg: Based on current deployment numbers, it is estimated that some 3,000 Service personnel with Service Families Accommodation will initially be eligible for the council tax relief payment, increasing to some 5,000 next year when the relief will cover those on operational deployments beyond Iraq and Afghanistan.

Armed Forces: Council Tax

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the armed forces will be entitled to the new council tax discount on homes not owned by his Department for troops serving abroad.

Derek Twigg: Based on current deployment numbers, it is estimated that some 5,000 Service personnel with private accommodation will initially be eligible for the council tax relief payment, increasing to some 7,500 next year when the relief will cover those on operational deployments beyond Iraq and Afghanistan.

Armed Forces: Council Tax

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he plans to increase the level of the discount for members of the armed forces serving abroad on operational duty each year in line with council tax inflation.

Derek Twigg: The level of payment will be updated annually based on the average council tax per dwelling in England.

Armed Forces: Council Tax

Brian Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the council tax rebate for serving personnel in the armed forces will come into effect.

Derek Twigg: Payments will be made from 1 April 2008 and will cover deployments from 1 October 2007.

Armed Forces: Deployment

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what units down to company level formed the Spearhead Land Element in 2005.

Bob Ainsworth: The Spearhead Land Element was rostered, during 2005, as follows:
	
		
			  Unit  Dates 
			 1(st) Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles 1 January to 5 March 
			 1(st) Battalion The Royal Green Jackets (now 2(nd) Battalion The Rifles) 5 March to 7 July 
			 1(st) Battalion The Green Howards (now 2(nd) Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment) 7 July to 1 December 
			 2(nd) Battalion The Light Infantry (now part of The Rifles) 1 December to  31 December 
		
	
	The Spearhead Land Element is a battalion size commitment. It is up to each battalion to manage this commitment between its available companies or sub units.

Armed Forces: Housing

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has had from former service personnel groups regarding the supply of affordable housing; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: The Department for Communities and Local Government and the devolved Administrations lead on social housing matters but the Ministry of Defence is in regular contact with them on veterans' housing issues. As Minister for Veterans, I have frequent contact with ex-service organisations. Various initiatives to reduce the risk of homelessness among service leavers and veterans have been discussed but neither my officials nor I recall the specific subject of the supply of affordable housing being raised. The Joint Services Housing Advice Office provides practical advice on access to affordable housing to current armed forces personnel and those who are soon to leave the services.

Armed Forces: Pay

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what proportion of members of the armed forces who served on the front line in each of the last five years received bonus payments in each of those years; what the  (a) amount of bonuses paid and  (b) largest single payment was in each year; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 15 October 2007
	Members of the armed forces do not receive bonus payments as part of their basic pay package. However all personnel who meet the eligibility criteria are paid the tax free Operational Allowance. The tax free Operational Allowance was effective from 1 April 2006 and came into payment in November 2006.
	The amount of the largest single payment is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	For financial year 2006-07 35,983 armed forces personnel received payment of the Operational Allowance, totalling £44.77 million. As a proportion of the strength of the armed forces at 1 April 2006 this represents about 18 per cent.
	For financial year 2007-08 to 30 September 2007,28,114 armed forces personnel received payment of the Operational Allowance, totalling £14.13 million. As a proportion of the provisional strength of the armed forces at 1 April 2007 this represents about 15 per cent. The marked difference in value between financial year 2006-07 and financial year 2007-08 to date is due to a smaller entitled population and a number of payments being made in advance at the end of financial year 2006-07, prior to closedown of the system for army implementation of JPA.

Army: Officers

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many officers in the Army are surplus to requirement; and what plans there are to reduce this number.

Bob Ainsworth: Officer strength is measured against the April 2008 Regular Army Liability (RAL), and on 1 March 2007, a surplus of 628 was recorded. However, the RAL only accounts for permanent posts, and there are currently more than 1,000 temporary posts for officers in addition to the RAL total for other requirements including support to operations. Therefore, even taking account of the RAL surplus, the total officer requirement is not being met and, as a result, there are currently no plans to reduce officer numbers.

Ballistic Missile Defence: USA

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what discussions his Department has had with the US Administration on plans to develop missile silos and x-band radar on land or sea bases in the UK;
	(2)  what discussions he and officials from his Department have had with the US Administration on plans to site interceptor missiles or related equipment in the UK.

Des Browne: holding answer 16 October 2007
	The Ministry of Defence continues to discuss ballistic missile defence issues with the US Administration. It is not the practice of the Government to make public details of all discussions with foreign Governments as this would, or would be likely to, prejudice international relations. As I set out in my statement of 25 July 2007,  Official Report column 72WS, we have no plans to site missile interceptors in the UK.

Defence

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with his French counterpart on  (a) European Security and Defence Policy and  (b) NATO.

Des Browne: I attended the Bastille Day celebrations in Paris on 14 July, where I met the French Defence Minister for bilateral discussions. I also had the opportunity to meet him at the end of September in the course of the EU Defence Ministers' informal meeting in Portugal.
	On both occasions we discussed a range of issues, including the European Security and Defence Policy and NATO.

Defence Systems and Equipment International Exhibition

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which Ministers from his Department attended the defence systems and equipment international exhibition in September.

Des Browne: The Minister for the armed forces and the Minister for defence equipment and support each visited the 2007 defence systems and equipment international exhibition in London in September.

Departments: Public Expenditure

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reason the 1 July DASA figures under TSP04 published on 25 August did not include the Army.

Derek Twigg: Army personnel figures at 1 July 2007 were not published on 23 August due to ongoing data validation from the new Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) system. This is necessary to ensure the statistics are of the quality required of a National Statistics output.
	Figures for the total strength of the Army at 1 July 2007 will be published in Tri-Service Publication (TSP) 1: Strength, Intake and Outflow of UK Regular Forces, on 19 October 2007. Detailed statistics relating to Army personnel at 1 July 2007 and 1 October 2007 will be published in TSP 4: Quarterly Press Release, on 22 November 2007.

Departments: Road Traffic Offences

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many fixed penalty tickets were incurred by vehicles within the purview of his Department in the last year for which figures are available; and what the total cost was.

Derek Twigg: The information requested is not held centrally.

Diego Garcia: USA

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 19 March 2007,  Official Report, column 604W, on Diego Garcia: USA, if he will list the occasions in each year from 1979 to date when the US has sought approval for operations they wished to undertake from the island.

Des Browne: holding answer 17 September 2007
	The 1966 UK/US Exchange of Notes requires the US to seek prior approval at the highest political level for any offensive action by the US from their base at Diego Garcia. It is a matter of record that the UK approved US offensive action from Diego Garcia in support of operations in Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003. However, I am withholding a full list of the occasions when the US has sought such approval as the release of such information would, or would be likely to, prejudice our international relations.

Ex-servicemen: Housing

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on requiring local authorities to accept applications from members of HM armed forces for social housing on leaving the services; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: The Secretaries of State of both Departments met on 14 May 2007 to discuss the issue of 'local connection' in the allocation of social housing.
	My hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and I announced through a written statement on 21 June 2007,  Official Report, column 108WS that the Government will be amending the housing legislation at the earliest opportunity to ensure that service personnel are put on an equal footing with others applying for an allocation of social housing. MOD and CLG officials continue to work closely on the issue.

Helicopters: Procurement

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total budget was for all helicopter procurement projects in each year since 2001.

Bob Ainsworth: The in-year budgets for all helicopter procurement projects for each completed year from financial year 2001-02 to 2006-07 are:
	
		
			  FY  £ million 
			 2001-02 842 
			 2002-03 524 
			 2003-04 318 
			 2004-05 257 
			 2005-06 260 
			 2006-07 209 
		
	
	These figures exclude funding for emergent urgent requirements and some commodity items bought in support of these projects.

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of British service personnel in Iraq are accommodated in tents.

Bob Ainsworth: Approximately two-thirds of UK service personnel in Iraq are currently accommodated in tents. The tents are protected against direct and indirect attack, with either HESCO bastion or breeze block walls, and are air conditioned, heated and equipped with full sanitation facilities.

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the Territorial Army have been killed in operations in  (a) Iraq and  (b) Afghanistan since 2003.

Bob Ainsworth: As of 30 September 2007, four members of the Territorial Army and one Regular Reservist have been killed on operations in Iraq since 2003. Over the same period, two members of the Territorial Army have been killed on operations in Afghanistan.

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the  (a) 1st Battalion the Royal Gurkha Rifles,  (b) 1st Battalion the Royal Green Jackets and  (c) 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment were deployed on operations in Iraq or Afghanistan in (i) 2004, (ii) 2005, (iii) 2006 and (iv) 2007.

Bob Ainsworth: The battalions in question operationally deployed, between 2004 and 2007, are as follows:
	
		
			  Unit  Deployment  Date 
			 1st Battalion the Royal Gurkha Rifles Operation Herrick 7 (Afghanistan) From October 2007 
			 1st Battalion the Royal Green Jackets (now 2nd Battalion the Rifles) Operation Telic 9 (Iraq) November 2006 to March 2007 
			 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment Operation Telic 7 November 2005 to May 2006

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what coalition policy is on seeking agreements with militias in Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: It is coalition policy to engage with any group that is interested in joining Iraq's democratic process and reducing violence.

Meteorological Office: Information Officers

David Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many press officers are employed by the Meteorological Office.

Derek Twigg: The Meteorological Office currently employs four full-time and one part-time press officers.
	All may deal with other communications issues, including internal communication or marketing tasks.

Military Exercises

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many military exercises were cancelled in  (a) 2004,  (b) 2005 and  (c) 2006; and what the reasons were for cancelling each exercise.

Bob Ainsworth: During financial year 2004-05, a total of 379 training events were scheduled in the Defence exercise programme (DXP) of which 79 (20 per cent.) were cancelled. While specific reasons for cancellation are not available in many cases, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost, the programme was affected by competing operational priorities. Since that time, improved data capture has enabled a more detailed review of the DXP.
	During financial year 2005-06, a total of 533 training events were scheduled in the DXP of which 58 (10.8 per cent.) were cancelled. 30 exercises were cancelled due to operational commitments, 13 were removed as savings measures and 10 were cancelled by other nations. The remaining five events were cancelled in response to changing priorities or rescheduling.
	In financial year 2006-07, a total of 699 training events were scheduled in the DXP of which 69 (9.8 per cent.) were cancelled. 35 exercises were cancelled due to operational commitments, five were removed as savings measures and 14 were cancelled by other nations. The remaining 15 events were cancelled in response to changing priorities or rescheduling.
	Details of the military exercises cancelled between 1 April 2005 and 31 March 2007 are set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Exercise name  Location  Type  Reason for cancellation 
			  Exercises cancelled in financial year 2005-06 
			 1 Div CT5 Ex Poland Land Operational commitments 
			 3 Div CT5 Ex UK Land Operational commitments 
			 AIR CADRE 06-1 Cyprus Joint Revised priorities 
			 AIR WARRIOR 05-10 PX USA Air Cancelled by lead nation 
			 ASWEX 05 UK Air Operational commitments 
			 BALTOPS 05 Baltic Air Operational commitments 
			 BASS ROCK Canada Land Cancelled by lead nation 
			 CATT 05 UK Land Operational priorities 
			 CROSS CHECK 05 Canada Air Operational commitments 
			 CYGNET GOLD France Land Cancelled due to MOU issues 
			 CZECH PINEAPPLE Czech Republic Land Operational commitments 
			 DANEX Denmark/North Sea Maritime Savings measure 
			 DRUIDS DANCE UK Land Savings measure 
			 EAGLES FLIGHT 06 UK Air Rescheduled as EAGLES EYE 06 
			 EAGLES RESOLVE UK Land Operational commitments 
			 EAGLES RESOLVE-Air UK Air Operational commitments 
			 FIDAE 06 Chile Air Operational commitments; 
			 FINGALS CAVE Canada Land Operational commitments 
			 FLOTEX SILVER Norway Maritime Savings measure 
			 FLYCATCHER 05-2 UK Joint Revised priorities. 
			 FWIT05 Norway Air Cancelled by lead nation 
			 GRUFLEX 05 Spain Air Cancelled by lead nation 
			 INITIAL LINK 05 Bahrain Air Rescheduled 
			 IRON ANVIL 05 Canada Air Operational commitments 
			 JOINT FALCON 06 UK Air Operational commitments 
			 JTP 05-5 UK Air Operational commitments 
			 KIMMONS POST Cyprus Land Operational commitments 
			 KLEIBER France Land Operational commitments 
			 LEMON PEEL 05-2 UK Joint Operational commitments 
			 LONE CHEETAH 05 France Air Savings measure 
			 LONE CIVET 05 Europe General Air Savings measure 
			 LONE EAGLE 05 Spain Air Savings measure 
			 LONE EGRET 05 Slovakia Air Savings measure 
			 LONE FEAT 05 Europe General Air Savings measure 
			 LONE FLAP 05 Norway Air Savings measure 
			 LONE KESTREL 05 Poland Air Cancelled by lead nation 
			 LONE KITE 05 Europe General Air Savings measure 
			 LONE KNOT 05 Europe General Air Savings measure 
			 LONE OSPREY 05 Ukraine Air Cancelled due insufficient time to resolve Ukrainian requirements 
			 LUCKY SENTINEL 05 Canada Air Cancelled by lead nation 
			 MEDICINE MAN BATUS Canada Land Savings measure 
			 MEDOC UK Land Operational commitments 
			 NOMAD 05 UK Air Cancelled due to withdrawal of 3 nations 
			 PATHFINDER Czech Republic Land Cancelled by mutual consent: operational commitments 
			 QUICKSAND 05 Africa Joint Operational commitments 
			 RED CORVETTE 06 UK Joint Revised priorities. 
			 SMART SEARCH 05 USA Air Cancelled by lead nation 
			 SNOW CHUTE 06 Norway Air Operational commitments 
			 SNOW GOOSE 05-2 Norway Air Savings measure 
			 SNOW LEOPARD 06 Norway Air Operational priorities 
			 SWORDFISH 05 Mediterranean Air Operational commitments 
			 TARGET FLAME 05-3 Cyprus Air Operational priorities (OPEVAL) 
			 TEMPLAR FORGE 05-1 Cyprus Air Operational commitments 
			 TEMPLAR FORGE 05-2 Cyprus Air Operational commitments 
			 TEMPLAR FORGE 05-3 Cyprus Air Operational commitments 
			 TRIDENT DOOR 05 Mediterranean Air Operational commitments 
			 WYCOMBE WARRIOR 05-07 day 1 UK Air Operational commitments 
			 WYCOMBE WARRIOR 05-07 day 2 UK Air Operational commitments 
			 
			  Exercises cancelled in financial year 2006-07 
			 1 ACC WTI 06 North America Air Operational commitments 
			 AATTC06-1 North America Air Operational commitments 
			 AIRLIFT RODEO 06 North America Air Cancelled by lead nation 
			 ALBERT'S RAPPORT 06-1 North America Air Operational commitments 
			 ALBERT'S RAPPORT 06-2 North America Air Operational commitments 
			 ALGONQUIN ROCK 06-1 North America Air Operational commitments 
			 ANATOLIAN EAGLE 06 Europe Air Cancelled by host nation 
			 APHRODITE 06/07 Cyprus Land Revised priorities 
			 AQUATIC ADVENTURE UK Joint Revised priorities 
			 ASSEGAI EYES 06 United Kingdom Joint Operational commitments 
			 ASTERIX 2-06/07 FR/UK Land Operational commitments 
			 ASTERIX 3-06/07 FR/UK Land Operational commitments 
			 BALD EAGLE 06/07 USA Land Revised priorities 
			 BARBARY AIR 06-2 Europe Air Operational commitments 
			 BLUE CYPRIOT Cyprus Land Operational commitments 
			 COCKFIGHT 2/06 UK Joint Operational commitments 
			 COMBINED STRENGTH 06-1 Europe Air Operational commitments 
			 COSSACK STEPPE 06/07 Ukraine Land Cancelled due to insufficient time to resolve Ukrainian requirements 
			 CYPRUS FORUM 06 Cyprus Joint Revised priorities 
			 CZECH PINEAPPLE 06 Czech Rep Land Operational commitments 
			 DAPEX 06 Europe Air Cancelled by host nation 
			 DRAGONS NEST 06 Europe Air Cancelled by lead nation 
			 EAGLES EYE 06/07 UK Land Operational commitments 
			 ETAM 06 Europe Air Operational commitments 
			 EXPRESS THREE 06/07 (RUSSIAN EXPRESS 06) Russia Land Cancelled due to coordination issues with host nation 
			 FINGALS CAVE 06/07 Canada Land Cancelled by host nation 
			 FLYING RAPPORT 06 North America Air Operational commitments 
			 FROZEN STAR 07 Norway Air Revised priorities 
			 FWIT06 Europe Air Operational commitments 
			 GAULISH 1-06/07 France/UK Land Operational commitments 
			 GAULISH 2/06 Not Specified Land Operational commitments 
			 GAULISH 4-06/07 France/UK Land Operational commitments 
			 GAULISH 5-06/07 France/UK Land Operational commitments 
			 GLOBAL GOLD 07/08 Kenya Land Operational commitments 
			 GRAND PRIX 1-06/07 Kenya Land Savings measure 
			 GRAND PRIX 3-06/07 Kenya Land Savings measure 
			 HEAVY FERRY 06/07 Germany Land Revised priorities 
			 JAGGED FLAME 06-1 Europe Air Savings measure 
			 JAVELIN 06/07 Nepal Land Revised priorities 
			 JRTC06-1 North America Air Operational commitments 
			 JTP 2-06/07 UK Land Operational commitments 
			 KELP FIRE 05/06 Falklands Joint Operational priorities 
			 LION STAR 1-07/08 Cyprus Land Savings measure 
			 LOG PROVIDER 06 United kingdom Joint Revised priorities 
			 LONE FIN 07 Europe Air Revised priorities 
			 LONE FLAP 06 Europe Air Cancelled by lead nation 
			 LONE FOIL Europe Air Operational commitments 
			 LONE FRAME 06-1 Rest of World Air Rescheduled 
			 LONE KNOT 06 Europe Air Postponed by lead nation 
			 LRIF06-1 North America Air Operational commitments 
			 MAPLE FLAG 39-1 North America Air Operational commitments 
			 MAPLE FLAG 39-3 North America Air Operational commitments 
			 NIGHT HAWK 2/06 Denmark Joint Operational commitments 
			 NOBLE AVENGER 06 Europe Air Cancelled by host nation 
			 PAPER CHASE 06/07 Germany Land Operational commitments 
			 PATH FINDER 06/07 Czech Rep Land Operational commitments 
			 PRAIRIE BRAVE 06/07 Canada Land Operational commitments 
			 RAINBOW SERPENT 06/07 Australia Land Ex reduced in scope due to Australian operational commitments 
			 READINESS CHALLENGE 06/07 USA Land Cancelled by lead nation 
			 ROCK CHALLENGE USA Joint Savings measure 
			 SNOW FALCON 07-1 Europe Air Revised priorities 
			 SOLENZARA AIR EX 06 Europe Air Operational commitments 
			 SPONTEX06-1 Europe Air Revised priorities 
			 TARGET FLAME 06-3 Europe Air Revised priorities 
			 TRIPLEX FLAME 06.1 Europe Air Cancelled by lead nation 
			 TUNUK WARRIOR 06/07 Turkey Land Cancelled by lead nation 
			 TWENTY SEVENTH SHOT 05/06 Gibraltar Land Operational commitments 
			 WET GAP 06/07 Germany Land Revised priorities 
			 WYCOMBE WARRIOR 09-06 Days 1 and 2 United Kingdom Air Cancelled by NATO

NATO Rapid Reaction Corps

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which military units form the UK's current commitment to the NATO Response Force.

Bob Ainsworth: The NATO Response Force is a high-readiness reaction force which comprises four elements (maritime, land, air and special forces) to which allies contribute forces on a six-month rotating basis. The UK is providing the Maritime Component Command for the current rotation of the NATO Response Force (July 2007 to January 2008). The UK forces supporting the Maritime Component Command are drawn, as required, from the Joint Rapid Reaction Force and comprise a carrier group with associated air and surface assets, amphibious forces, naval mine counter measures units, and auxiliary support vessels. In addition, the UK is making some air-to-air refuelling and in-theatre lift assets available to the Air Component Command.

Nuclear Weapons: Transport

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether in-house provision of the service for the road transport of nuclear weapons by HM Naval Base Clyde is still under consideration.

Bob Ainsworth: We are not proposing to pursue that option. The operation will remain with AWE plc for the foreseeable future.

Reserve Forces: Deployment

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many volunteer reservists in each service are deployed on operations.

Bob Ainsworth: As at 31 August 2007 (the latest figures available), the number of volunteer reservists deployed on operations was:
	
		
			   Royal Navy Reserve  Royal Marines Reserve  Territorial Army  Royal Auxiliary  Air Force 
			 Telic (Iraq) 26 9 169 66 
			 Herrick (Afghanistan) 6 0 397 45 
			 Oculus (Balkans) 1 0 15 0 
			 Sierra Leone and Democratic Republic of Congo 0 0 0 0 
			 Global Counter Terrorism 0 0 6 0 
			 Total 33 9 587 111 
		
	
	In addition, there were 627 reservists mobilised on pre-deployment training, receiving medical treatment, or on post-operational leave.

Territorial Army: Training

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average number of training days per year was for members of the Territorial Army in each year since 2003.

Bob Ainsworth: This information is not held in the form requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Historically, TA pay has been sufficient to meet the demand for trained TA manpower to support current operations; and for all TA officers and soldiers to train to a level that allows them to be 'certified efficient' and qualify for Bounty. Current levels of Territorial Army (TA) pay permit approximately 41 training days per person per year.

War Pensions

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many former members of the Merchant Marine have been awarded a war pension.

Derek Twigg: The information requested is not available, but figures are available for the number of former members of the merchant marine in receipt of pensions under the War Pensions Mercantile Marine scheme over the past five years. This information is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  War Pensions in payment under the Mercantile Marine scheme( 1) 
			   Disablement pensioners 
			 30 June 2003 1,360 
			 30 June 2004 1,205 
			 30 June 2005 1,090 
			 30 June 2006 980 
			 30 June 2007 855 
			 (1) All numbers have been rounded to the nearest five.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Doha Trade Talks

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the Doha development round of international trade talks.

Gareth Thomas: Negotiations on all aspects of the Doha Development Agenda continue to take place at the WTO in Geneva. The UK Government remain fully committed to working with the EU Trade Commissioner, other EU member states and other WTO members to secure an ambitious, pro-development outcome to the Doha round.

Women's Education and Economic Performance

Natascha Engel: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what research his Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the links between education on sexual health for women in developing countries and the economic performance of the country concerned.

Shahid Malik: Little research has been commissioned or evaluated on the link between education on sexual health for women and overall economic performance.
	It is known and accepted that there is a strong link between education for women and overall economic performance in a country. It is also generally assumed that education on sexual health for women leads to better health outcomes. We are funding an evaluation of an adolescent sexual health intervention in Tanzania which will provide important new knowledge on how best to deliver education on sexual health to achieve better health.

Zimbabwe

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe.

Douglas Alexander: The humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe is deteriorating. An estimated 4.1 million people will need food aid by year end. Malnutrition has reached emergency levels in places. Urban water and sanitation collapse is causing disease outbreaks. HIV/AIDS remains rife.
	DFID is providing life-saving humanitarian assistance until the policy environment improves. We contributed an additional £8 million to the World Food Programme recently which will feed two million people for two months.

Zimbabwe

Richard Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe.

Douglas Alexander: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for North-West Cambridgeshire (Mr. Vara) and the hon. Member for Bexleyheath and Crayford (Mr. Evennett) today (UIN 158522 and 158523).

Climate Change

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to help the poorest countries address the adverse impacts of climate change.

Gareth Thomas: DFID is adapting its development programmes in countries to take account of the adverse impacts of climate change and is assisting Multilateral Development Banks and UNDP to also do so.

Burma

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the humanitarian situation in Burma.

Shahid Malik: A third of Burma's population lives below the poverty line. Severe economic mismanagement has deprived Burma of the economic growth enjoyed by its south-east Asian neighbours, and investment in public services has been minimal. The brutal suppression of recent demonstrations against economic hardship has exacerbated humanitarian conditions. DFID is providing £1 million to meet urgent humanitarian needs in Burma, in addition to £8 million already planned for this year.

Ethiopia

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the humanitarian situation in the Ogaden region of Ethiopia.

Shahid Malik: A United Nations team made an assessment of the situation at the beginning of September, and concluded that there was no major humanitarian crisis in the Somali (Ogaden) region although humanitarian conditions within conflict areas were deteriorating, and there was an urgent need for food and medical supplies, and help with water and sanitation.
	DFID and the other donors are working with the Ethiopian government and the United Nations to ensure that humanitarian assistance will be delivered to those who need it.

Corruption

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the Government's policies for combating corruption in aid recipient countries.

Douglas Alexander: Corruption is a serious threat to development. DFID's policy is to build effective states that promote development and invest significantly in efforts to address corruption and improve governance.
	DFID regards anti-corruption as a priority and discusses this with partner Governments when agreeing and reviewing its Country Assistance Plans. These plans are informed by a comprehensive governance analysis and assessment of local priorities.

Developing Countries: Health Services

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department has taken to increase accessibility of health care in developing countries.

Shahid Malik: DFID's strategy "Working Together for Better Health", published in June 2007 sets out our approach to support developing countries to improve the health of their people and reaching the Millennium Development Goals. This is to deliver more resources for health; to expand access to basic health services; to improve the effectiveness of international funding for health; and to demonstrate results and build the evidence base of what works.
	Our spending on health has doubled since 2002-03. About 15 per cent. of our aid goes to health, a total of £800 million in 2006-07. Overall, the UK is the second largest donor to health. Most of this help is directed through our country programmes. For example, in Bangladesh, DFID is the largest supporter of the health sector donor pooled fund. Immunisation coverage has reached 80 per cent. for the five vaccine-preventable diseases and infant mortality is down from 116 to 88 (1994-2004).
	The International Health Partnership, launched by the Prime Minister on 5 September, will help ensure that increasing resources are used more effectively to strengthen health systems and deliver better care and services. In bringing together international agencies, major donors and partner countries, it will work to make sure health services better meet individual country needs.

Developing Countries: Natural Disasters

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department has taken to minimise the impact of natural disasters in developing countries.

Shahid Malik: DFID's policy on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)(1) is to support measures to prevent and mitigate the impact of natural disasters at the global, country and community level. At the global level, DFID is supporting DRR programmes through the Geneva-based UN International Strategy for DRR, the World Bank, the ProVention Consortium of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and the International Federation of Red Cross Societies. DFID is also supporting the community-level DRR work of five NGOs.
	DFID's support for DRR through its regional programmes includes the Chars Livelihoods Programme in Bangladesh, which has helped raise 32,700 households on plinths above the flood level; the Caribbean Catastrophic Risk Insurance Facility, to enable Governments to jump-start recovery efforts after disasters; and an NGO Consortium for DRR in Niger, which aims to strengthen vulnerable communities. Following the Government's commitment to allocate up to 10 per cent. of each emergency response to a natural disaster to DRR, where appropriate, DFID is supporting DRR in Indonesia; the Indian Ocean Early Warning System; UN capacity-building in climate adaptation; and the World Health Organisation Disease Early Warning System and institutional capacity-building in Pakistan.
	(1) See DFID's policy paper 'Reducing the Risk of Disasters—Helping to Achieve Sustainable Poverty Reduction in a Vulnerable World'. ISBN 186192 751 7 (deposited in the Libraries of the House).

Palestinians: Overseas Aid

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what aid and assistance has been provided by his Department for development in Palestine.

Shahid Malik: DFID has provided over £380 million in assistance to Palestinians since the Oslo peace accords were signed in 1994. For 2007-08, we have made £31.6 million available. Of this, we have provided £1 million to the Red Cross for humanitarian work; £3 million to the Temporary International Mechanism (TIM) and £15.6 million to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). On 17 July, the Secretary of State for International Development announced a £3 million contribution to help the Palestinian Authority pay off its debts to the private sector.
	DFID provides technical assistance to Palestinian institutions, including the Office of the President, the Negotiations Affairs Department and the Ministry of Finance. We are launching a £3 million initiative to help Palestinian businesses compete in new markets and increase their exports. Together with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence, we work to reduce conflict through the Global Conflict Prevention Pool.

United Nations Population Fund

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions  (a) Ministers in his Department and  (b) officials have had with the United States Administration on its decision to suspend the US contribution to the United Nations Population Fund; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: There have been no discussions between DFID Ministers or officials and the United States Administration on the suspension of the US contribution to UNFPA.

United Nations Population Fund

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development who the British representative is on the Executive Board of the United Nations Population Fund; and what relevant  (a) specialist and  (b) general qualifications and experience he or she has.

Gareth Thomas: The British representative on the Executive Board of UNFPA is a representative of the UK mission in New York, who acts on behalf of the UK ambassador to the UN. The representatives have specialist skills and qualifications in the areas of health and development as well as general qualifications in economics and international enterprise. The representatives' experience in government ranges from five to 25 years.
	There is a strong partnership between colleagues in the UK mission and DFID. The former liaise with DFID on all health and development issues.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Central Office of Information: Manpower

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many staff in the Central Office of Information Media Monitoring Unit monitor internet blogs; and what the estimated cost of such monitoring is for 2007-08.

Gillian Merron: At present, the Media Monitoring Unit has no staff monitoring internet blogs and there is, therefore, no cost in 2007-08.

Charity Commission

Greg Clark: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment has been made of the impact of the Charities Act on  (a) the workload and  (b) the adequacy of funding of the Charity Commission.

Phil Hope: The Government have considered issues around the work load and resources of the Charity Commission, including obligations arising from the Charities Act 2006. The Chief Secretary to the Treasury announced the details of the Charity Commission's financial settlement for the financial years 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 as part of the comprehensive spending review.
	
		
			   £ million 
			 Resource funding baseline for 2007-08 (pre-CSR announcement) 30.2 
			 New resource funding baseline for 2007-08 31.7 
			 Resource funding for 2008-09 30.9 
			 Resource funding for 2009-10 30.2 
			 Resource funding for 2010-11 29.4 
		
	
	The Commission will receive £0.5 million in recognition of their responsibilities in the Charities Act. This sum has been added to their pre-CSR announcement baseline which also includes the previously announced funding of £1 million to support the implementation of their counter-terrorism strategy.
	We are currently in positive discussions with the Commission to discuss ways to fund the new licensing regime for public charitable collections.

Delegation and Coherence

John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what progress has been made in implementation of the policy statement Delegation and Coherence issued by the Cabinet Office in September 2006.

Gillian Merron: holding answer 10 October 2007
	Cabinet Office officials continue to work with Departments and the civil service unions to implement the key areas identified in the statement to improve operation of the delegated pay arrangements. Discussions have taken place with Heads of Professions and Departments on greater pay coherence for similar workforce groups; a set of reward principles has been published to inform departmental reward strategies; the Treasury's annual Pay Remit Guidance has been strengthened to help narrow unjustified pay gaps between Departments; and we are currently considering the scope for improving the delegation process and identifying areas that can be managed more corporately.

Departments: Flowers

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much was spent by his Department on flowers in the last 12 months.

Gillian Merron: On rare occasions, officials may purchase flowers for specific purposes e.g. events, functions but there are strict guidelines in place determining such transactions. Details of expenditure can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departments: Internet

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many websites the Cabinet Office operates; how many it operated at 1 January 2005; and what the estimated annual cost has been of running the Office's websites in the last five years.

Gillian Merron: There are currently 14 Cabinet Office websites. There were 38 Cabinet Office websites as at 1 January 2005.
	As part of the Government's Website Rationalisation strategy (part of the Transformational Government agenda), the Cabinet Office is focusing its internet presence on two websites—the Civil Service site (www.civilservice.gov.uk). and the Cabinet Office site (www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk). All other Cabinet Office websites will be closed by March 2012.
	Annual website costs (including VAT) are as follows:
	
		
			  Financial year  Cabinet Office cost  (£) 
			 2006-07 690,000 
			 2005-06 975,000 
			 2004-05 670,000 
		
	
	Website expenditure within the Cabinet Office before 2004-05 is not available. Before this time, budgets for communication activity (including website development and maintenance) were devolved to Cabinet Office business units, and there was no central monitoring of web expenditure.
	The Cabinet Office was responsible for the Directgov website until April 2006, when it transferred to the Central Office of Information. Excluding one-off marketing and infrastructure renewal costs, expenditure for Directgov was £5.4 million in 2005-06 and £5.4 million in 2004-05. Prior to 2004-05, Directgov was funded from within the UKOnline budget which was the responsibility of the former Office of the e-Envoy and it has not been possible to obtain financial information for this period.

Departments: Internet

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many hits the  (a) most and  (b) least popular website run by the Cabinet Office has received since 1 January 2007.

Gillian Merron: Based on statistics, the website with the most hits was the Civil Service Recruitment Gateway (www.careers.civil-service.gov.uk) which from 1 January to the end of August received:
	23,612,818 hits
	7,940,377 page views
	948,502 visits
	Based on statistics, the website with the least hits was the HM Government website (www.hmg.gov.uk) which since it was set up on 9 April received:
	30,682 hits
	7,055 page views
	3,598 visits
	"Hits" can be a misleading statistic as, depending on how a website is designed and managed, an individual looking at a single page can generate a widely varying number of "hits". Statistics of "Page Views" and "Visits" are generally accepted as a more accurate representation of website usage.

Departments: Manpower

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many people have been appointed to his Department outside of civil service grades in the last 30 days.

Gillian Merron: The only appointments that fall outside civil service grades in the Cabinet Office are those made using fee-paid contracts. The number of fee-paid appointments made during the period 27 June 2007 to 26 July 2007 is six.
	In addition, my Department publishes information annually on appointments to the public bodies for which it is responsible. Data for 2006-07 are in the process of being collated, and will be published shortly on the Cabinet Office website:
	www.cabinet-office.gov.uk
	Copies will also be placed in the Libraries of the House for the reference of Members.

Departments: Publications

Grant Shapps: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for North-East Hertfordshire (Mr. Heald) of 26 March 2007,  Official Report, column 1393W, on Departments: publications, if he will place in the Library a copy of the July 2007 edition of the Central Office of Information's White Book.

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will place in the Library a copy of the July 2007 edition of the Central Office of Information's White Book.

Gillian Merron: The publication of the White Book is being prepared to reflect the changes in departmental boundaries and responsibilities.
	The new edition will be published and placed in the Library next month.

Olympic Games: Greater London

John Whittingdale: To ask the Minister for the Olympics 
	(1)  what estimate she has made of the cost of construction of the facilities required to stage the Olympic shooting events at the Royal Artillery Barracks; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what estimate she has made of the cost of staging the shooting events for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games at the National Shooting Centre at Bisley.

Tessa Jowell: holding answer 10 September 2007
	Outline assessments during the bid phase were conducted on the basis of providing the overlay required to stage shooting events at the National Shooting Centre at Bisley. However, during the bidding phase, the International Olympic Committee commented on the distance between Bisley and the Olympic Park. On the basis of this feedback, and following consultation with the International Shooting Federation, the Royal Artillery Barracks was selected as the shooting venue, due to its iconic location and its close proximity to the Olympic Park and Village. These factors will improve the athlete and spectator experience by limiting travel and making it easier to attend other Games events on the same day in the Olympic Park.

Olympic Games: Greater London

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Olympics if she will provide a full breakdown of the £2.7 million Olympic contingency fund; and whether any of that contingency has been drawn down.

Tessa Jowell: holding answer 15 October 2007
	On 15 March 2007,  Official Report, column 450, I announced a funding provision for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games of £9.325 billion. This included provision for £2.747 billion programme contingency, comprising:
	£2,509 million contingency to reflect the risk of additional costs arising from factors such as unforeseen ground conditions, inflation beyond existing provision and changes in legislation; and
	£238 million for any potential increases in the costs of policing and wider security.
	The use of the programme contingency is subject to approval by the ministerial funders group. As set out in recent NAO report "The Budget for the London 2012, Olympic and Paralympic games," in June 2007, the group agreed to release £360 million of programme contingency to the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA). This will be drawn down from April 2008.

Olympic Games: Greater London

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Olympics if she will place in the Library a copy of the cash flow forecast for the Olympic Delivery Authority.

Tessa Jowell: holding answer 15 October 2007
	 Details of the Olympic Delivery Authority's cash flows for 2007-08 are included in the ODA's 2007-08 business plan summary, published on its website. A copy of which is in the Libraries of both Houses.
	Chapter 20 of the CSR White Paper published on 9 October sets out the Government's contribution for the next three years (2008-09 to 2010-11). The balance of the funding requirement will be met, as planned in March 2007, from contributions from the Mayor of London (GLA and LDA); from funding already coming in from Olympic lottery games; from funds from the Sports Lottery Distributor; and from the funds to be transferred from the National Lottery Distribution Fund, subject to affirmative resolution in both Houses.
	Further details of cash flows will be set out in future business plan summaries.

Olympic Games: Greater London

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Olympics how the issue of financing costs is being addressed in the Olympics Delivery Authority budget.

Tessa Jowell: holding answer 15 October 2007
	The CSR announced grant in aid from Government of £1,559/£1,104/£1,050 million in 2008-09 to 2010-11. Provision for 2011-12 to 2013-14 will be confirmed in the next CSR.
	The balance of the funding requirement will be met, as planned in March 2007, from contributions from the Mayor of London (GLA and IDA); from funding already coming in from Olympic lottery games; from funds from the Sports lottery distributor; and from the funds to be transferred from the national lottery distribution fund, subject to affirmative resolution in both Houses.

Olympic Games: Greater London

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Olympics how much it will cost to rent all facilities not located on the Olympic park necessary to stage the London 2012 Olympics, broken down by venue.

Tessa Jowell: holding answer 16 October 2007
	The London Organising Committee for the Olympic games (LOCOG) have informed me that they have set aside an allowance of circa £30 million for arrangements for non-Olympic park sporting venues.
	LOCOG are not currently in a position to disclose further information, by venue, as they are still negotiating terms with some of the venue owners and to do so would prejudice their commercial interests.

Olympic Games: Greater London

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what her latest estimate is of the likely cost of the London 2012 Olympic games that will be paid via the council tax in London; and if she will make a statement.

Tessa Jowell: The estimated contribution from the London council tax, as announced in 2003, remains at £625 million.

PRIME MINISTER

Departments: Internet

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  how many websites his Department operates; how many it operated at 1 January 2005; and what the estimated annual cost has been of running his Department's websites in the last five years;
	(2)  how many hits the  (a) most and  (b) least popular website run by his Department has received since 1 January 2007.

Gordon Brown: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my predecessor (Tony Blair) to the right hon. Member for Maidenhead (Mrs. May) on 9 May 2007 , Official Report, column 196W.
	Information on the number of visits to the site can be found on the No. 10. website (http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page13384.asp). A copy of this webpage has been placed in the Library of the House.
	The running costs for the No. 10 website the financial year 1 April 2006-1 April 2007 were £189,689. The costs reflect the creation of new channels with which to engage with the public, including e-petitions and the YouTube channel, both of which are major innovations in online Government communication.

Departments: Official Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Prime Minister how much was spent by his Office on official hospitality in the last 12 months.

Gordon Brown: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Cleethorpes (Shona McIsaac) on 25 July 2007,  Official Report, column 1108W. Figures for the financial year 2007-08 will be published in the usual way after the end of the financial year.

Ministers: Grace and Favour Housing

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the grace and favour properties available to members of the Government; and who the current occupants of those properties are.

Eric Pickles: To ask the Prime Minister which Ministers occupy each of the official ministerial residences; and which of them  (a) pay and  (b) do not pay council tax on their official residences.

Gordon Brown: holding answer 15 October 2007
	 The flats above numbers 10 and 11 Downing Street have traditionally been the residences of the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer. I currently reside in Number 11 Downing Street and my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer resides in Number 10 Downing Street. One of the flats in Admiralty House is currently occupied by my right hon. Friend, Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown). Council tax is paid personally on these official residences by me and both my right hon. Friends. The remaining official residences are currently unoccupied. The ministerial residence in South Eaton Place, Pimlico, is no longer required and it will be sold, with the proceeds going to the Exchequer.
	In addition, I have the use of Chequers and my right hon. Friends the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Foreign Secretary, have the use of Dorneywood and Chevening respectively. Council tax in respect of Chequers, Dorneywood and Chevening is a matter for the trustees. Ministers in the Northern Ireland Office have the use of accommodation in Hillsborough Castle and Stormont.

Prime Minister's Questions

Jeremy Wright: To ask the Prime Minister how many hours are spent each week in preparation for Prime Minister's Questions by  (a) civil servants and  (b) special advisers (i) in Downing Street and (ii) on average in other Departments; and if he will make a statement.

Gordon Brown: I am briefed in exactly the same way as my predecessors were.

Royal Household: Finance

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Prime Minister what contributions to the cost of the Royal Household are met by countries other than the United Kingdom where Her Majesty the Queen is Head of State; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
	None.

TREASURY

Air Passenger Duty

Mike Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to tax aircraft emissions rather than impose air passenger duty; and if he will make a statement.

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues about potential alternatives to air passenger duty; and what plans he has to change the current system.

Angela Eagle: I refer the hon. Members to the Chancellor's statement in the House on 9 October 2007,  Official Report, column 167W, and to the pre-Budget report and Comprehensive Spending Review 2007 'Meeting the aspirations of the British people' (Cm.7227) paragraphs 7.54 to 7.56.

Breast Cancer

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many people in  (a) Hertfordshire and  (b) England developed breast cancer in each of the last three years;
	(2)  what proportion of people in  (a) Hertfordshire and  (b) England developed breast cancer in each of the last three years.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell dated, 16 October 2007:
	, and what proportion of people developed breast cancer (a) in Hertfordshire and (b) nationally in each of the last three years [157520].
	The latest available figures for newly diagnosed cases (incidence) of malignant neoplasm of breast are for 2004. Numbers and rates per 100,000 for 2002-2004 for England and the county of Hertfordshire are given in Table 1 below.
	It is not possible to produce breast cancer rates for males in Hertfordshire due to the small numbers involved.
	
		
			  Table 1: Registrations of newly diagnosed cases and rates( 1)  per 100,000 of malignant neoplasm of breast( 2) : England and the county of Hertfordshire( 3) , by sex, 2002-04 
			Registrations  Rates 
			2002  2003  2004  2002  2003  2004 
			 England Male 254 289 272 0.9 1.0 0.9 
			  Female 35,149 37,283 36,939 117 123 121 
			 
			 Hertfordshire Male 8 7 7 — — — 
			  Female 621 711 667 103 114 104 
			 (1 )Rates are directly age-standardised to control for differences in the age structure of populations between geographical areas over time. (2) Breast cancer is defined as code C50 in the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). (3) Rates were not calculated for males in Hertfordshire as the numbers of registrations were too low.  Source: Office for National Statistics

Childcare: Finance

Jo Swinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what funds are available to local authorities for provision under the forthcoming childcare duty.

Beverley Hughes: I have bean asked to reply.
	We are determined that local authorities should have the resources they need to fulfil the statutory duty to secure from April 2008, so far as is reasonably practicable, sufficient childcare to meet the needs of working parents. From that month the Sure Start, Early Years and Childcare Grant to local authorities in England will include revenue and capital funding as shown in the table to fund Sure Start Children's Centres; support outcomes, quality and diversity; and support child care sufficiency and access, This funding is not ring-fenced and it remains up to individual local authorities to determine how their funds will be spent.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Revenue funding  Capital funding 
			 2008-09 1,239 379 
			 2009-10 1,340 472 
			 2010-11 1,508 361

Departments: Secondment

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff are seconded to his Department from outside Government; from which outside body each has been seconded; and what the length is of each secondment.

Angela Eagle: Information relating to staff currently seconded to the Treasury can be found on the HMT Website at:
	http://www.hm-treasury_gov.uk/about/about_secondee.cfm

Disability Aids: Finance

Lorely Burt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will allocate additional funding to improve wheelchair and mobility equipment available to disabled children and young people as set out in the report Aiming High for Disabled Children by his Department and the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

Andy Burnham: The Department of Health (DH) 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) settlement of £110 billion by 2010-11 included additional resource to support improved outcomes for disabled children (as committed in the HM Treasury/Department for Education and Skills (DCSF) report "Aiming high for disabled children: better support for families".
	Improving outcomes for disabled children and their families will also be reflected in the new PSA and indicator set, with a joint DCSF/DH national disabled children's indicator as part of the new CSR performance management framework setting out Government priorities and driving improved provision and delivery of services.

Employment: Mentally Ill People

Harry Cohen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to publish his Department's Review of Mental Health and Employment; if he will give priority to extending access to proven psychological therapies in order to increase employment opportunities and reduce the risk of unemployment among people with mental health problems; and if he will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: I refer the hon. Member to the statement my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health made on 10 October 2007.

Housing: Valuation

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many residential dwellings in England are recorded by the Valuation Office Agency with the dwelling house coding of having  (a) one bedroom,  (b) two bedrooms,  (c) three bedrooms and  (d) four or more bedrooms.

Jane Kennedy: As at 4 October 2007, the relevant number of dwellings in England were 2,545,082 with one bedroom, 6,247,291 with two bedrooms, 10,045,887 with three bedrooms and 3,139,945 with four or more bedrooms.

Income Tax: Tax Rates and Bands

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department has made of the likely change in revenue from reducing the  (a) basic rate of income tax and  (b) higher rate of income tax by one per cent. in (i) 2007-08 and (ii) 2008-09.

Jane Kennedy: The information requested will be published in the next edition of HM Treasury's tax ready reckoner—'2007 tax ready reckoner and tax reliefs'—which will be published later this year.

Influenza

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps the Financial Services Authority is taking to assess the effectiveness of the contingency plans of the UK's financial institutions for a potential influenza pandemic.

Kitty Ussher: In October/November 2006, the Financial Services Authority, on behalf of the Tripartite Authorities (HM Treasury, the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority (FSA)), led a six week market wide exercise on pandemic flu. Around 70 market participants took part and a report on lessons learned is available on the Tripartite Financial Sector Continuity website (www.fsc.gov.uk).
	The Tripartite Authorities have held a series of follow up events to discuss key issues arising from the exercise and the FSA continues to work with retail banks, insurance firms, recovery site providers and telecommunications firms to produce statements about how they would respond in a pandemic.
	In addition, the FSA has conducted benchmarking to establish the preparedness of firms to deal with a range of threats or hazards, including pandemic influenza.

Long Term Public Finance Report 2007

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reason the Long Term Public Finance Report 2007 was not published with the Pre-Budget Report; and when he plans to publish it.

Andy Burnham: As set out in paragraph 2.45 of the 2007 pre-Budget report, the Government publish the "Long-term public finance report" to provide a comprehensive analysis of long-term socio-economic and demographic developments, and their likely impact on the public finances, based on the most up-to-date information available.
	The population projections provided by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) are central to this analysis. Given that ONS will not publish the new population projections until the 23 October 2007, the next long-term public finance report will now be published at a later date.

Mortgages

Gordon Banks: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what the maximum fixed term mortgage available is in the UK; and what estimate he has made of how many borrowers have signed up to such a facility;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of how many mortgage holders in the UK have fixed term mortgages.

Kitty Ussher: The Financial Service Authority (FSA) publishes comparative tables of products offered by lenders that report that the maximum fixed term for a mortgage in the UK is 25 years. These tables are available at http://www.fsa.gov.uk/tables
	The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) publishes the number of fixed term mortgages issued each year in the UK. These statistics are available at http://www.cml.org.uk/cml/statistics

Pay

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many employees have income in excess of £50,000 per year; and what percentage of the total employed workforce that figure represents.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 16 October 2007:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many employees have income in excess of £50,000 per year; and what percentage of total employed workforce that figure represents. (157392)
	The information requested is not available in respect of income, but the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) can be used to provide a partial answer for UK earnings. ASHE is earned out in April each year and is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. It is a one per cent. sample of all employees who are members of pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) schemes.
	ASHE is not used to provide estimates of the numbers of employees whose earnings is greater than a specific amount, but is used to provide estimates of proportions of the workforce in that category. I attach a table showing an estimate of the percentage of the UK workforce which earned greater than £50,000 per year, from the 2006 Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
	
		
			  Proportion of UK employees paid in excess of £50,000 per year( 1) 
			  UK 2006  Percentage 
			 Full-time 8.3 
			 Part-time 0.5 
			 All jobs 6.3 
			 (1 )Employees on adult rates whose pay for the survey pay-period was not affected by absence.  Source:  Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Office for National Statistics.

Public Sector: Standards

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether delivery agreements will accompany the new public service agreements; and if he will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: A delivery agreement was published for each public service agreement (PSA) alongside the pre-Budget report and comprehensive spending review. They are available on HM Treasury's website:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/pbr_csr/pbr_csr07_index.cfm

Stamp Duties: Peterborough

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was collected from stamp duty in each financial year since 1997 in  (a) Peterborough constituency and  (b) the Peterborough City Council area; and if he will make a statement.

Kitty Ussher: Estimates of the stamp duty land tax yield at local authority/unitary authority level are not available for years prior to 2005-06. Figures for 2005-06 and 2006-07 are provided in the tables from the following HMRC website:
	2005-06: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/stamp_duty/table154-0506.pdf
	2006-07: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/stamp_duty/table154-0607.pdf
	Estimates of stamp duty land tax yield at parliamentary constituency level are under review. The HMRC website will announce an update on the publication timetable in October.

Suicide: Children

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many suicides there were amongst children between the ages of 10 and 18 years in each of the last 10 years, broken down by year group.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell ,  dated  16 October 2007:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many suicides there were amongst children between the ages of 10 and 18 years in each of the last 10 years, broken down by year groups. (157790)
	The table below contains numbers of suicides for those aged under 19 by single year of age in England and Wales from 1996 to 2005, the latest available year.
	The definition of suicide used by ONS assumes that most deaths from "injury or poisoning of undetermined intent" at ages 15 and over are cases where the harm was self-inflicted but there was insufficient evidence to prove that the deceased deliberately intended to kill themselves. For this reason, ONS includes these in its suicide statistics for those aged 15 and over, along with deaths from intentional self-harm. The same cannot be assumed in deaths at ages under 15. There were no deaths in children aged under 13 with a suicide verdict for the period requested.
	
		
			  Number of deaths from suicide and injury/poisoning of undetermined intent, ages 13 to 18, England and Wales, 1996 to 2005( 1) 
			   Suicide( 2)  Suicide and injury/poisoning of undetermined intent( 3) 
			   13 years  14 years  15 years  16 years  17 years  18 years 
			 1996 1 2 9 24 25 61 
			 1997 1 4 6 27 28 42 
			 1998 1 2 8 19 41 46 
			 1999 1 1 7 20 37 57 
			 2000 1 2 16 10 43 48 
			 2001 1 4 8 17 29 45 
			 2002 2 3 11 18 33 36 
			 2003 2 1 4 16 27 36 
			 2004 3 2 7 20 23 42 
			 2005 1 0 6 14 17 34 
			 (1 )Figures are for deaths occurring in each calendar year. (2 )The came of death for suicide was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes E950-E959for the years 1996 to 2000, and Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes X60-X84for 200J onwards. (3) The cause of death for injury/poisoning of undetermined intent was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes E980-E989 excluding E9 88.8 for the years 1996 to 2000, and Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes YW-Y34 excluding Y33.9 where the Coroner's verdict was pending for 2001 onwards.

Tax Allowances: Pensions

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost of tax relief on pensions  (a) in total and  (b) for higher rate contributions in 2007-08.

Kitty Ussher: As set out in the 2007 pre-Budget report, the annual cost of tax relief on approved pension schemes for 2007-08 is estimated to be £17.5 billion.
	Detailed estimates covering the period 1998-99 to 2006-07 are available in table 7.9 on Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/pensions/menu.htm
	I also refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne) on 24 October 2005,  Official Report, column 52W.

Taxation: International Civil Servant Status

Harry Cohen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in the UK have international civil servant status for tax purposes; what such status means in terms of allowances and exemptions; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: Under UK tax law there is no such person as an "international civil servant". However, officials of the United Nations are sometimes referred to as international civil servants. There is no requirement for visiting officials to notify HM Revenue and Customs of their presence in the UK. Those who are present in the UK for a sufficient length of time to become resident in the UK will be dealt with locally. Information is not collated centrally.
	The UK tax position of employees of the United Nations is set out in the United Nations and International Court of Justice (Immunities and Privileges) Order 1974. This provides immunities and privileges that are normal for international organisations. It includes among other things that officials of the UN shall be exempt from income tax on remuneration received by them from the UN. UN Officials are however subject to a form of internal tax operated by the UN, which is referred to as the Staff Assessment.

Teenage Pregnancy

Chris Bryant: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many teenagers gave birth in each constituency in 2006.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 16 October 2007:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many teenagers gave birth in each constituency in 2006. (157349).
	The attached table provides the number of live births to mothers aged less than 20 in each parliamentary constituency in England and Wales, in 2006. Since these figures are for births rather than maternities, a small number of teenage mothers who had multiple births will have been counted more than once. A copy has been placed in the House of Commons Library.

Unemployment: Peterborough

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of the 18 to 24-year-old population of the Peterborough constituency was not been in education, training or employment in each quarter since the second quarter of 2001; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 17 October 2007:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what proportion of the 18 to 24 year old population of the Peterborough constituency has not been in education, training or employment in each quarter since the second quarter of 2001. (158648)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics for local areas from the annual local area Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions. Quarterly data are not available for parliamentary constituencies.
	The table attached shows the numbers of 18 to 24 year olds not in full-time education, employment or training, resident in Peterborough for the 12 month periods ending in February for 2002 to 2004 from the local area LFS and for the 12 month periods ending in March for 2005 to 2007, from the APS. The table also shows these numbers as the percentage of all 18 to 24 year olds in the area for each year.
	Estimates for a subset of the population in a small geographical area are based on very small sample sizes, and are therefore subject to large margins of uncertainty.
	
		
			  Persons aged 18 to 24 who are not in full-time education, employment or training resident in the  Peterborough  constituency 
			  12 months ending  Number ( Th ousand)  Percentage of all 18-24 year olds 
			 February 2002 2 25 
			 February 2003 2 18 
			 February 2004 2 21 
			 March 2005 2 27 
			 March 2006 2 26 
			 March 2007 2 25 
			  Note: Estimates are subject to sampling variability.  Source: Annual local area Labour Force Survey; Annual Population survey.

Unemployment: Young People

James Clappison: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 9 October 2007,  Official Report, column 4757W, on 18 to 24-year-olds, how many 18 to 24-year-olds were not in full-time education, employment or training in each  (a) local authority area and  (b) parliamentary constituency in each of the last 10 years.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 16 October 2007:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many 18 to 24 year olds were not in full-time education, employment or training in each (a) local authority area and (b) parliamentary constituency in each of the last 10 years. (158340)
	Information in the form requested is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Valuation Office

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the  (a) purpose and  (b) function is of the Valuation Office Agency's World Class Programme.

Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove) on 19 June 2007,  Official Report, column 1640W, and also refer to the agency's Forward Plan 2007-10 published on 18 June 2007.

Valuation Office

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 24 July 2007,  Official Report, column 1018W to the hon. Member for North-East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt) on the Valuation Office Agency, what the destination was of each of the 412 flights.

Jane Kennedy: Details of the destinations of these 412 flights could be obtained only at disproportionate cost and time.

Valuation Office

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library a copy of the Valuation Office Agency's communications toolkit.

Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 8 October 2007,  Official Report, columns 217-18W, to the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr. Hammond). The VGA's communications toolkit has been laid in the Library of the House.

Valuation Office

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Valuation Office Agency's Council Tax Revaluation Programme Board (England) last met.

Jane Kennedy: This programme board last met on 22 November 2005.

Valuation Office

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library a copy of the Valuation Office Agency's Rating Cost Guide in CD-Rom format.

Jane Kennedy: The Valuation Office Agency's Rating Cost Guide provides indicative costs of buildings and machinery for use in valuations for non-domestic rating purposes. Since 2004 it has been made available to the general public for purchase at a charge of £750.00 (in CD-Rom format).

Valuation Office: Alcoholic Drinks

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the Valuation Office Agency spent on  (a) champagne and wine and  (b) alcohol in the last year for which audited figures are available.

Jane Kennedy: Costs attributable to  (a) and  (b) are minimal because the Valuation Office Agency's policy is that alcohol should not normally be provided for internal conferences or for external events. They are not recorded separately and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost and time.

Valuation Office: Digital Versatile Disks

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 24 July 2007,  Official Report, column 1019W to the hon. Member for North-East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt), on the Valuation Office Agency: digital versatile disks, how many videos, including VHS formats and electronic digital formats, have been produced by the Agency in the last 36 months.

Jane Kennedy: The Valuation Office Agency has produced no videos in VHS format over the last 36 months. Since October 2004, 25 internal 'videos' to staff have been produced in a digital format available to view via the Agency's wide area network.

Valuation Office: Visits Abroad

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for North East Bedfordshire of 24 July 2007,  Official Report, column 1020W, on the Valuation Office Agency: visits abroad, to which bodies the agency's staff have been seconded in Australia; how many staff have been seconded; and what divisions of the agency they come from.

Jane Kennedy: The Valuation Office Agency has sponsored three reciprocal, six-month, secondments from the Valuation Office to the Australian Valuation Office.
	1. Secondee from Tunbridge Wells Valuation Office to Australian Valuation Office for the period 30 January 2006 to 30 July 2006.
	2. Secondee from DV Services Central (Shrewsbury) to Australian Valuation Office for the period 2 October 2006 to 30 March 2006.
	3. Secondee from Harrogate Valuation Office to Australian Valuation Office for the period 2 April 2007 to 28 September 2007.

VAT: Home Information Packs

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether VAT will be levied  (a) on the local authority search elements and  (b) drainage and water search elements of home information packs.

Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 17 September 2007,  Official Report, column 2243W, to the hon. Member for North-East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt). Drainage and water searches remain VAT standard-rated when supplied by a VAT registered business.

VAT: Swimming

Janet Anderson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on reducing the level of VAT payable on swimming lessons for children; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: Representations are regularly made to Treasury Ministers and officials on a wide range issues.
	VAT is not chargeable on swimming lessons provided by non-profit making bodies, local authorities, schools, and private tutors, otherwise they are VAT standard-rated. The VAT agreements with our European partners that allow us to keep our existing zero rates, and which govern the scope of our VAT exemptions and reduced rates, do not allow us to reduce the rate of VAT currently payable on children's swimming lessons.

Venture Capital

Harry Cohen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what arrangements are in place for directors and elite shareholders of businesses  (a) in the process of being and  (b) after having been taken over by (i) private equity businesses and (ii) non-private equity businesses to disclose all deals, promises and transactions of personal benefit to themselves, both prior to and subsequent to the takeover; what duties such directors and elite shareholders have to other shareholders and employees of the business being taken over; what proposals he has to change the existing arrangements; and if he will bring forward urgent proposals to legislate to make such disclosure necessary.

Kitty Ussher: Takeovers are supervised and regulated by the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers in accordance with the rules set out in the Takeover Code. This provides an orderly framework within which takeovers are conducted, contributing to the integrity of financial markets, and ensuring that all shareholders are treated fairly and are not denied an opportunity to decide on the merits of a takeover.
	The Code requires:
	that all shareholders of the same class be treated equally (general principle 1)
	the disclosure of share dealings during the offer period (rule 8)
	that an offeror covers its intentions for the future of the business, including likely repercussions on employment (rule 24.1)
	the disclosure of details of directors' interests and dealings in securities of the offeror company (rule 25.3)
	the disclosure of details of directors' remuneration or service contracts (rule 25.4)
	In addition, the FSA's Listing Rules require listed companies to disclose directors' service contracts, to notify relevant interests in securities by directors and persons connected with them, and also restrict dealings in the company's securities by directors and persons connected with them. Further obligations in relation to the disclosure of relevant information and of particular transactions in substantial portions of shares in a company whose shares are traded on regulated markets are contained in the FSA's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.
	The Companies Act 2006 imposes statutory duties on directors of all companies, whether before or after a takeover, whether listed on a public market or privately held. These include the duties in chapter 2 of part 10 among other things to promote the success of the company for the benefit of its shareholders as a whole, having regard—among other matters—to the interests of the company's employees, to exercise reasonable care, skill and diligence, and to avoid conflicts of interest. The Act imposes specific requirements for prior shareholder authorisation in areas likely to give rise to conflicts of interest, such as loans by the company to a director or long-term service contracts for directors. Chapters 4 and 6 of part 15 of the Act also impose disclosure requirements in respect of directors' remuneration, directors' service contracts, and advances, credit and guarantees to directors.
	The Takeover Panel and FSA are respectively responsible under statute for setting takeover rules and listing and disclosure rules. BERR is responsible for the general corporate disclosure regime. Current rules are kept under review and regularly updated in line with market developments.

Written Questions

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will answer Question 120846, on domestic taxation and house prices in Northern Ireland, tabled by the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar on 6 February.

Jane Kennedy: The hon. Member's question was transferred from the Treasury to the Northern Ireland Office. I understand that the former Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for Neath (Mr. Hain), said in his reply of 19 February that the matter is now the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive.

BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM

Bankruptcy

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many  (a) bankruptcy orders and  (b) individual voluntary agreements were recorded in (i) 1996-97 and (ii) the most recent year for which figures are available.

Patrick McFadden: The table shows the number of bankruptcies and individual voluntary arrangements in England and Wales for financial years 1996-97 and 2006-07.
	
		
			   Bankruptcy orders  Individual voluntary arrangements 
			 1996-97 21,058 4,441 
			 2006-07 64,610 47,975 
			  Notes: Figures are not seasonally adjusted.

Bankruptcy: Elderly

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many people in  (a) England and  (b) Suffolk aged 60 years or over declared themselves bankrupt in each year since 1997.

Patrick McFadden: Bankruptcy statistics broken down by age as well as by region are currently only readily available on the basis of the locations of official receivers offices (each of which cover a group of county courts where the cases are heard and the courts having jurisdiction over these), and for the years 2000 through to 2006.
	The table provides estimates of numbers of individuals aged 60 years and over declared bankrupt in the regions considered to be closest to those requested, but they should not be treated as completely accurate statistics because date of birth is not recorded for all bankruptcy cases over the period covered and also because regional statistics based around the jurisdictions of official receivers are not consistent with county or country level geographies.
	
		
			  Estimated numbers of bankruptcy orders, individuals aged 60 and oven 2000 to 2006 
			   Bankrupts aged 60 years and above by geographical area 
			   England and Wales  England  Anglia  Ipswich 
			 2000 973 924 137 22 
			 2001 1,068 1,027 143 18 
			 2002 1,289 1,249 182 23 
			 2003 1,637 1,566 233 23 
			 2004 2,149 2,059 296 25 
			 2005 3,126 3,042 471 38 
			 2006 4,796 4,622 720 72 
			  Notes:  1. Anglia region covers the following OR offices: Cambridge, Ipswich, Northampton, Norwich, St. Albans, Southend-on-Sea. 2. Ipswich's OR office covers the following county courts: Sudbury, St. Osyth, Ipswich, Colchester and Clacton, Braintree.

Conditions of Employment

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what provisions of the Warwick Agreement, which have not been implemented, he plans to implement.

Patrick McFadden: The Government remain committed to fulfilling their manifesto over the course of this Parliament. The Government's employment relations strategy, "Success at Work", was published in March last year and sets out our plans for delivering these commitments within the wider context of the labour market and Better Regulation agenda.

Departments: General Elections

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what contingency preparations his Department made for the possibility of a general election in autumn 2007; and what the costs were of those preparations.

Gareth Thomas: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster gave on 15 October 2007,  Official Report, column 822W.
	The guidance covering the conduct of official business during a general election was last issued in May 2005. This guidance, and other relevant procedures and processes, are kept under constant review by Departments so that they are ready to be put in place when a general election is called.

Departments: Manpower

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many people were employed by his Department and its predecessor on 1 January in each of the last five years; and how many of these staff were  (a) permanent employees,  (b) temporary staff and  (c) contractors.

Gareth Thomas: The average number of people employed by the predecessor to the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, in each of the last five years, is as follows:
	
		
			   Civil servants permanent  Others 
			 2002-03 4130 29 
			 2003-04 3750 456 
			 2004-05 3846.5 419 
			 2005-06 3302.4 211.4 
			 2006-07 3085.5 134

Derelict Land: South East Region

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many hectares of brownfield land were  (a) reclaimed and  (b) redeveloped by the South East England Development Agency in the last year for which figures were available; and what the annual target range was for that indicator.

Stephen Timms: SEEDA is on target to remediate over 200 hectares of brownfield land over our three year corporate plan period 2005-08, which is within our target range for this output. A shortfall in 2006-07 was caused by delays with delivery of some large projects, which will create a surplus against the target range in 2007-08. SEEDA does not hold a specific record of when brownfield land is developed.
	
		
			  Brownfield land remediated in the South East by SEEDA 
			  Hectare 
			   Target range  Actual 
			 2005-06 72-120 101 
			 2006-07 75-125 13 
			 2007-08 34.5-57.5 — 
			 Total 181.5-302.5 —

Energy: Meters

Martin Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform by what date domestic consumers will be entitled to request a free visual display meter from their energy companies; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The Government propose to require companies to provide display devices at the request of electricity customers for a two-year period from 2008. It is currently consulting on this and other proposals, and will take final decisions following that consultation.

Microgeneration

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will estimate the value of the Merton rule to the UK's microgeneration industry in  (a) 2005,  (b) 2006,  (c) 2007 and  (d) 2008.

Malcolm Wicks: In line with the Department for Communities and Local Government's Planning Policy Statement 22 on Renewable Energy, some 120 local planning authorities have set targets for the use of on-site renewable energy in new developments. As recognised by our Microgeneration Strategy, such policies play an important role in stimulating the renewables industry and create a market for microgeneration technologies. The first authority to formalise the policy was the London borough of Merton. While we have not estimated the monetary value of Merton style policies, I know that the microgeneration business regard them as an important driver for their market.

Post Offices: Temporary Employment

Elliot Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether the use of agency staff by the Post Office is in line with regulations relating to the Employment Act 2003.

Patrick McFadden: To date the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate has not received any information to suggest that the regulations governing employment agencies, the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, are not being complied with by Royal Mail.
	Royal Mail has given assurances that it fully complies with the requirements of the legislation regarding employment agencies.

Postal Services: Competition

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the impact of the manner in which Postcomm has imposed the universal service obligation on the profitability of  (a) Royal Mail and  (b) Royal Mail's competitors; and what comparison he has made with the process of liberalisation in other EU countries.

Patrick McFadden: Assuring the provision of a universal service and liberalising the postal market are matters for Postcomm, the Postal Services Commission. The Regulator regularly reviews universal service provision and market conditions in both the UK and other EU member states. Its reports are made publicly available on its website at:
	http:// www.psc.gov.uk.

Renewable Energy

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what representations the Energy Minister has received from the renewable energy industry on the future of the Merton rule.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department has had representations at all levels from the renewable energy industry around proposed changes to the planning system, and the future of Merton style policies. We work closely with business to ensure that relevant issues are understood and taken into consideration in the development of new policy.

Renewable Energy: Housing

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what discussions the Energy Minister has held with the Housing Minister on the future of the Merton rule; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: We are working closely with colleagues in the Department for Communities and Local Government developing policies in this area. Discussions on the final detail of proposed changes to planning policy are ongoing.

Severn Barrage

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 
	(1)  whether the report he commissioned on a Severn Barrage will consider the potential economic impact of the Barrage on the city of Bristol;
	(2)  how many locations are being considered as being potentially suitable for the Severn Barrage;
	(3)  whether the report he has commissioned into a potential Severn Barrage will consider all major options for renewable energy generation facilities in the River Severn including the benefits and disadvantages of the status quo; and when the report will be concluded.

Malcolm Wicks: The feasibility study, for which the detailed remit and budget are now being scoped, will consider all key aspects of a tidal barrage in the Severn Estuary, including environmental, social and economic issues. The Government are committed to taking forward the feasibility study in an open and transparent way, which will include engaging with business, environmental and community groups.

Severn Barrage

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 
	(1)  what business, environmental and community groups will be consulted with regard to the report he has commissioned on the Severn Barrage; and how such groups are being made aware of the report;
	(2)  what budget he has allocated for the report on the Severn Barrage.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 16 October 2007
	The feasibility study, for which the detailed remit and budget are now being scoped, will consider all key aspects of a tidal barrage in the Severn Estuary, including environmental, social and economic issues. The Government are committed to taking forward the feasibility study in an open and transparent way, which will include engaging with business, environmental and community groups.

JUSTICE

Alcoholic Drinks: Young People

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) prosecutions and  (b) convictions there were of retailers for selling alcohol to persons under 18 years old for consumption off the premises in each of the last 10 years.

Maria Eagle: The information requested on prosecutions and convictions of retailers for selling alcohol to persons under 18 years in each of the last 10 years is provided in the following table. It is not possible to identify from the data whether these sales were on or off licensed premises.
	In addition to court proceedings, the offence of sale of alcohol to a person under 18 can attract a penalty notice for disorder (PND). The offence was added to the PND scheme on the 1 November 2004, and there were 113 penalty notices issued for the offence in November and December of that year. Additionally, another 2,058 penalty notices were issued in 2005. Data for 2006 will be available in November 2007.
	
		
			  Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for selling alcohol to under-age customers, England and Wales, 1995 to 2005( 1, 2, 3) 
			   Proceeded against  Found guilty 
			 1995 198 108 
			 1996 251 119 
			 1997 215 126 
			 1998 311 158 
			 1999 205 115 
			 2000 132 56 
			 2001 158 53 
			 2002 170 105 
			 2003 616 419 
			 2004 841 593 
			 2005 1,084 772 
			 (1) These data are provided on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police forces and courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Covers the offences: selling etc. intoxicating liquor to person under 18 for consumption on the premises under the Licensing Act 1964 S.169 A and B as added by Licensing (Young Persons) Act 2000 S.1, wholesaler selling intoxicating liquor to a person under 18 under the Licensing Act 1964 S.181 A(1) as added by Licensing Act 1988 S.17, sale of alcohol to a person under 18 under the Licensing Act 2003 S.146 and allowing sale of alcohol to a person under 18 under the Licensing Act 2003 S.147. Sections 146 and 147 of the 2003 Licensing Act only came into effect from 24 November 2005, so data prior to 2005 is not available. The first two offences cannot separately identify on and off premises consumption although both are covered by the statutes.  Source: RDS, Court proceedings database, Office for Criminal Justice Reform, Ministry of Justice.

Approved Premises: Reoffenders

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the reoffending rates are of those released from approved premises in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: No information on re-offending rates from those released from approved premises (bail or probation hostels) is available centrally.
	This information could only be collated by manual checking of individual case details, which would incur disproportionate cost.

Departments: Public Bodies

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will list his Department and its predecessors  (a) executive agencies,  (b) executive non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs),  (c) advisory NDPBs,  (d) tribunal NDPBs,  (e) trading funds and  (f) public corporations for each financial year since 2005-06.

Maria Eagle: The Ministry of Justice was launched on 9 May 2007 from the merger of Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA), National Offender Management service (NOMS), and Office for Criminal Justice Reform (OCJR). NOMS and OCJR were part of the Home Office prior to 9 May 2007 and details of their related public bodies for 2005-06 and 2006-07 will be covered by the Home Office.
	The list of Executive agencies related to DCA for 2005-06 were: HM Courts Service, HM Land Registry, the National Archives, and the Public Guardianship Office. The list of NDPBs, trading funds and public corporations for 2005-06 are included in the Public Bodies Directory 2006, published on the civil service website at:
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/other/agencies/publications/pdf/public-bodies/publicbodies2006.pdf
	The list of Executive agencies related to DCA for 2006-07 were: HM Courts Service, HM Land Registry, the National Archives, Public Guardianship Office, and the Tribunals Service. The list of NDPBs, trading funds and public corporations for 2006-07 are included within the DCA Public Bodies Directory 2007, a copy of which will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
	The current list of agencies, NDPBs, trading funds and public corporations listed under Ministry of Justice, are published on the MOJ website at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/about/organisationswesponsor.htm

Departments: Databases

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will make a statement on the Government's plans to increase data-sharing across Government; and whether the Government plans to amend  (a) the Data Protection Act 1998 and  (b) other legislation to facilitate this.

Michael Wills: As part of the Government's Service Transformation Agreement the Ministry of Justice will lead a cross-government programme to deliver a package of measures over the next three to five years to tackle crime and terrorism, improve personalised public services, increase public safety and tackle social exclusion through information-sharing while maintaining openness and respect for citizens' privacy and access rights. No legislative changes are being considered at this stage.

Departments: Freedom of Information

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what guidance his Department and its predecessor have issued on time limits on the right to request an internal review of a response to a request made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Michael Wills: Guidance on the discharge of public authorities' functions is provided in a code of practice under section 45 of the Act, which is laid before Parliament by the Secretary of State and Lord Chancellor. This guidance sets the procedure for dealing with complaints, referred to as internal reviews. Any request for an internal review must be dealt with in accordance with the code of practice. It contains no specific guidance on time limits for requesters to ask for internal reviews. In response to FOI requests received by the Ministry of Justice, the requester is informed via a letter that they may ask for an internal review within two calendar months from the date of that letter. This is consistent with the time limit set out in the Environmental Information Regulations under Regulation 11(2) of 40 days to issue a complaint. Public authorities are free to decide, on a case by case basis, whether they will carry out an internal review requested after this period has elapsed.

Elections: ICT

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans his Department has  (a) to hold further remote electronic voting pilots,  (b) to hold further electronic counting pilots and  (c) to extend the use of electronic voting to mainstream elections.

Michael Wills: In the Governance of Britain Green Paper the Government set out a long-term aim to investigate the potential benefits of remote electronic voting and to take advantage of emerging communication technologies to provide increased flexibility and choice in the way people vote.
	The outcomes of the May 2007 electoral pilot schemes and the subsequent recommendations of the Electoral Commission are currently being considered. I expect to be able to set out our thinking on future piloting involving remote electronic voting and electronic counting pilots in the near future.
	The Government currently have no plans to extend the use of e-voting. The Government believe that piloting innovations in e-voting and e-counting have been important in order to test the potential benefits, and establish the evidential basis for future decisions to be taken on whether or not electronic voting could be used more widely in elections.

Electronic Conveyancing

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the expected timetable is for the full implementation of electronic conveyancing by the Land Registry.

Michael Wills: The latest revision of Land Registry's business case for the electronic conveyancing programme estimates that the programme of work will be fully implemented in 2014-15. The programme's implementation plan is constantly reviewed and updated to ensure that each new service and product is fully tested and that customer feedback is taken on board.

Fraud: Mortgages

Peter Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many cases of fraudulent registration in the Land Registry of ownership of another person's property and associated mortgage fraud occurred in each of the last three years.

Michael Wills: It is not known how many applications have been made to Land Registry in each of the last three years that have resulted in a fraudulent registration, whether in respect of the ownership of land or of a mortgage on land. This is because, firstly, there may be cases that have not come to light, and, secondly, Land Registry does not presently keep a central record of all frauds that affect the register of title. Land Registry does keep a central record of all cases where it pays statutory compensation, including those which result from fraud. It is also in the process of developing a more comprehensive method of recording fraud, whether or not it results in the payment of compensation.
	Any owner of land who suffers loss as a result of the registration of a forged transfer or mortgage through no fault of their own is entitled to be compensated for that loss by Land Registry.
	Land Registry paid statutory compensation as a result of fraud on a total of 15 claims in 2004-05, 31 claims in 2005-06 and 24 claims in 2006-07. To put this into context, there are currently more than 21 million registered titles and, in each of the last three years, Land Registry received around 4 million applications to register transfers for value and mortgages.

General Elections

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what contingency preparations his Department made for the possibility of a general election being held in autumn 2007; and what the costs were of those preparations.

Bridget Prentice: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 15 October 2007,  Official Report, columns 822-23W.

Housing: Prices

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average price was for a  (a) residential property,  (b) detached house,  (c) semi-detached house,  (d) terraced house and  (e) maisonette/flat in each year in England since 1991 according to Land Registry data.

Michael Wills: Land Registry began collating this data in 1995. Information prior to this is not available. The following table provides the requested data from 1995 to present.
	
		
			  England average prices and volumes of sales 1995 to Q2 2007 
			  £ 
			   Detached  Semi-detached  Terraced  Flat/maisonette  Overall average 
			  England  
			 Annual 1995 106,332 60,917 51,869 59,826 68,824 
			 Annual 1996 109,810 62,998 54,209 64,705 72,355 
			 Annual 1997 119,559 68,492 59,856 72,554 79,236 
			 Annual 1998 129,879 73,992 64,805 80,380 85,829 
			 Annual 1999 142,325 81,782 73,025 93,307 96,221 
			 Annual 2000 165,982 91,902 83,273 110,879 110,208 
			 Annual 2001 183,161 103,624 91,810 121,440 121,589 
			 Annual 2002 213,246 122,144 106,053 139,657 140,952 
			 Annual 2003 246,533 142,795 119,888 151,247 158,984 
			 Annual 2004 276,202 164,686 139,367 169,426 180,922 
			 Annual 2005 297,285 175,848 150,796 176,114 191,823 
			   
			  All regions  
			 Annual 2006 314,600 186,889 165,048 186,852 206,146 
			   
			  England  
			 Q1 2007 329,925 192,072 171,237 196,707 212,980 
			 Q2 2007 334,418 197,228 176,252 200,648 218,751 
			  Source: Land Registry

Housing: Prices

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average price derived from Land Registry data was in each local authority area in England and Wales for  (a) all homes,  (b) flats/maisonettes,  (c) detached homes and  (d) semi-detached homes in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Michael Wills: The latest available figures from Land Registry cover the period from April to June 2007 and can be found in the Libraries of the House.

Land Registry: Internet

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many properties are recorded by the Land Registry but not accessible on Land Registry Online.

Michael Wills: All registered titles in England and Wales are publicly accessible via 'Land Register Online'.

Land Registry: Revenue and Customs

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what access  (a) HM Revenue and Customs and  (b) the Valuation Office Agency have to the Land Registry land database for valuation or taxation purposes.

Michael Wills: HM Revenue and Customs and the Valuation Office Agency have no automatic access to Land Registry's land database other than that which is available to business users of the electronic service 'Land Registry Direct'.

Land: Registration

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment the Land Registry has made of the number of properties or items of land which are not recorded by the Land Registry.

Michael Wills: At the end of September 2007, 61.7 per cent. of the freehold land area of England and Wales was registered with Land Registry representing just over 21 million registered titles. Land Registry estimates that the remaining 38.3 per cent. of the land area will generate around 4.5 million freehold first registrations.

Legal Aid

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what assessment his Department has made of the impact of fixed legal aid fees upon not-for-profit legal aid providers;
	(2)  what research his Department has undertaken into the effects of the Government's legal aid reform plans upon different regions and areas of the country; if he will publish such research; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the effects of the Government's legal aid reform plans upon  (a) clients with severe mental health problems,  (b) black and minority ethnic clients,  (c) disabled clients,  (d) clients with housing problems and  (e) clients involved in complex children and family cases who use legal aid.

Maria Eagle: Each new fee scheme published by the Legal Services Commission (LSC) has been accompanied by an impact assessment. These are available on the LSC's website, and copies have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
	Within the next few weeks, the LSC also intends to publish a combined cumulative impact assessment of the legal aid reform programme to date, including those changes due for implementation in January.

Legal Aid

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what further plans he has to meet representatives of the legal profession and other organisations with an interest or involvement in the delivery of legal aid to discuss the future direction of the Government's legal aid reform plans.

Maria Eagle: My noble Friend the Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, has met a wide range of representatives from the legal profession and others with an interest in legal aid since he became the responsible Minister. He will continue to do so over the coming months to discuss the future direction of legal aid following completion of the introduction of the new fee schemes.

Legal Aid: Blackpool

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what representations he has received from individuals and organisations from Blackpool on the Government's legal aid reform plans.

Maria Eagle: In the past year the Ministry of Justice and its predecessor have received two such representations from the hon. Gentleman on behalf of constituents and one from the hon. Member for Blackpool, North and Fleetwood (Mrs. Humble).

Legal Aid: Fees and Charges

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans his Department has to re-introduce a graduated fee system for legal aid rates in replacement of the fixed rate fee system.

Maria Eagle: The fixed fee schemes being introduced for civil, family, immigration and criminal legally aided work set fees for particular tasks or groups of tasks. Thus the fees are graduated according to the requirements of work. This move from remuneration for each hour worked to payment for each job done is an essential part of our strategy for reform of legal aid.

Mental Capacity Act 2005

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what amendments have been made and what recent representations he has received about the operation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what  (a) statutory instruments,  (b) departmental circulars and  (c) other documents he (i) has issued and (ii) plans to issue in the next 12 months consequential to the provisions of the Mental Capacity Act 2005; and if he will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: Since the Mental Capacity Act 2005 received Royal Assent we have held a series of public consultations seeking views as we have developed the code of practice and secondary legislation to support the implementation of the Act. In addition to the formal responses to consultation we have on occasion received representations on the Act from members of the public via their Members of Parliament. Since April 2007 we have received 43 such communications asking questions or commenting on the Act's provisions.
	There have been two minor changes to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 to date, both of which were introduced by the Mental Health Act 2007. The first made a minor amendment to section 20(11)(a) of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 to correct a drafting error by replacing the word "or" with "and". The second amended section 49 of the Act to clarify the occasions when it is not necessary to appoint an Independent Mental Capacity Advocate.
	In addition the Mental Health Act 2007 contains provisions that will amend the Mental Capacity Act 2005 to introduce new safeguards to address the issues raised in the European Court of Human Rights judgment on 5 October 2004 in the case of HL  v. the United Kingdom.
	A number of pieces of secondary legislation that prescribe the detail of how the Act will operate have been laid before Parliament and have come into force as of 1 October 2007. In addition the Office of the Public Guardian has produced a wide range of forms, guidance and other information related to the operation of the Act. The Department's Mental Capacity Implementation Programme and the Office of the Public Guardian have also regularly informed stakeholders and customers of progress implementing the Act via update newsletters.
	I have laid a table in the House Library today providing a list of the main secondary legislation, forms and guidance and newsletters produced by the Department to support the implementation of the Act. Further information may be produced in the next 12 months as required.

Prison Accommodation

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many spaces in prisons in England and Wales are expected to be withdrawn in each of the next five years.

David Hanson: There is a planned rolling programme of refurbishment of accommodation across the prison estate. This allows the critical maintenance of the estate to be undertaken while having no significant net change on the number of places in use. Annually this means that between 1,500 and 2,000 places are out of use at any one time for essential work. We are not currently planning to withdraw any further accommodation in addition to these places.

Prisoners: Age

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people in prison of each ethnic group are  (a) 18,  (b) 19,  (c) 20,  (d) 21,  (e) 22,  (f) 23,  (g) 24,  (h) 25,  (i) 26,  (j) 27,  (k) 28,  (l) 29,  (m) 30,  (n) 31,  (o) 32,  (p) 33,  (q) 34 and  (r) 35 years old.

David Hanson: The following table shows the population in prison establishments in England and Wales aged 18-35 by ethnic group as at 31 August 2007:
	
		
			   White  Mixed  Asian or Asian British  Black or Black British  Chinese or Other  Not stated. Unrecorded and 1991 census codes  All 
			 Age
			 18 1,645 129 121 358 21 7 2,280 
			 19 2,242 182 167 482 46 9 3,128 
			 20 2,358 167 216 495 36 15 3,288 
			 21 2,380 155 226 513 35 11 3,321 
			 22 2,296 134 269 471 51 23 3,244 
			 23 2,253 104 274 510 47 19 3,207 
			 24 2,213 120 263 488 49 33 3,166 
			 25 2,176 106 284 516 60 33 3,175 
			 26 2,175 103 305 474 44 23 3,124 
			 27 2,133 119 291 480 59 36 3,118 
			 28 2,112 104 255 487 50 25 3,034 
			 29 1,819 82 260 431 41 18 2,652 
			 30 1,683 73 249 405 46 16 2,471 
			 31 1,689 73 187 377 42 13 2,381 
			 32 1,694 49 187 333 45 18 2,325 
			 33 1,626 69 174 350 37 6 2,262 
			 34 1,598 42 159 344 32 19 2,195 
			 35 1,536 57 143 309 23 19 2,088 
		
	
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

HEALTH

Accident and Emergency Departments

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 22 May 2007,  Official Report, columns 1227-8W, on accident and emergency departments, whether the advice on catchment population size applies to West Sussex.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department has not issued guidance stating that accident and emergency departments should cover a given catchment population.
	It is a matter for the local national health service to ensure that there is appropriate provision of urgent and emergency services that are responsive to people's needs.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Age

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average age was for patients admitted to accident and emergency units in hospitals in the West Sussex primary care trust geographical area in the latest period for which figures are available.

Dawn Primarolo: This information is not held by the Department in the format requested. However, the following table shows the count of finished admission episodes and the mean (average) age for patients admitted via accident and emergency with a primary care trust (PCT) of responsibility of West Sussex PCT. The PCT of responsibility is the PCT with whom the patient is registered and has commissioning responsibility for the patient.
	
		
			  Count of finished admission episodes and mean age of patients admitted via accident and emergency with a primary care trust (PCT) of responsibility of West Sussex PCT for 2005-06: National health service hospitals—England 
			 Finished admission episodes 15,492 
			 Mean age (years) 54.5 
			  Notes:  Admission  m ethods: 21—Emergency: via accident and emergency (A and E) services, including the casualty department of the provider 28—Emergency: other means, including patients who arrive via the A and E department of another healthcare provider  Finished admission episodes : A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.  Ungrossed data : Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).  Data quality : Hospital episode statistics (HES) are compiled from data sent by over 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England. The Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. Whilst this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain.  Source: (HES), The Information Centre for health and social care

Accident and Emergency Departments: West Sussex Primary Care Trust

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the likely impact on travel times to emergency facilities in West Sussex Primary Care Trust in the event of the relocation of accident and emergency facilities away from Worthing Hospital.

Dawn Primarolo: It is for primary care trusts (PCTs) in conjunction with other local stakeholders and their strategic health authorities (SHAs) to make assessments of current and future health needs and to commission services accordingly. South East Coast SHA has advised officials that in this case West Sussex PCT has carried out the assessment.
	The hon. Member may wish to approach the PCT directly on this matter.

Ambulance Services: South East Coast Strategic Health Authority

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what evidential basis the South East Coast strategic health authority describes as a myth the proposition that patients' lives will be at risk if it takes longer for the ambulance to transport them to accident and emergency as described on its website http://www.southeastcoastfff.nhs.uk.

Dawn Primarolo: This is a matter for the local national health service. South East Coast strategic health authority has advised officials that the evidence obtained comes from several academic sources and has been a theme in a number of national publications.
	We would encourage the hon. Member to contact the chief executive of the lead NHS organisation in this matter which is West Sussex primary care trust.

Ambulance Services: West Sussex

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average  (a) response time for emergency ambulance call-outs and  (b) time before admission to hospital following emergency call out was in West Sussex primary care trust in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Dawn Primarolo: Information on average response time and time before admission to hospital is not available. The closest equivalent measures of average response time are percentage of response times within eight minutes and 19 minutes.
	Information on percentage of response times within eight minutes and within 19 minutes is available in tables 6 and 7 of the "Ambulance Services for England 2006-07" report.
	This information is available for 2002-03 to 2006-07 for each Ambulance Service Provider in England. Data for 2006-07 are not directly comparable to data for earlier years due to the re-organisation of Ambulance Service Providers in 2006.
	Data for West Sussex are not available; however, Sussex on a whole is shown. Complete Sussex data are available until 2005-06 and only for quarter one in 2006-07 due to the re-organisation.
	The "Ambulance Services for England 2006-07" report is available in the Library and is also available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/audits-and-performance/ambulance/ambulance-services-england-2006-07
	Data are not available on time before admission to hospital as timing stops when an emergency vehicle arrives at the scene of the incident.

Chlamydia Infection: Screening

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to encourage primary care trusts to ensure that pharmacies offer chlamydia testing kits as part of the chlamydia screening programme.

Dawn Primarolo: Chlamydia screening programme areas are encouraged to engage a range of screening venues to participate in the National Chlamydia Screening Programme, including pharmacies.
	In addition to this, the Department contracted Boots to pilot the potential of community pharmacies as locations for chlamydia screening. Screening started on 14 November 2005. To date, nearly 43,000 screens have been undertaken with a positively rate of around 8 per cent. This pilot is being independently evaluated by TNS Healthcare.
	In support of commissioners, the Department is working with the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee and the national health service to develop a national template for a chlamydia screening local enhanced service through the NHS Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework.

Chlamydia Infection: Screening

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many 16 to 24-year-old  (a) males and  (b) females were tested for chlamydia infection as part of the National Chlamydia Screening Programme broken down by primary care trust in each year since 2003-04; and what proportion of 16 to 24-year-olds this represented in each year;
	(2)  how many tests for chlamydia infection have been undertaken in the 16 to 24-year-old age group in the year 2007-08 to date  (a) in England and  (b) broken down by primary care trust; and what percentage of 16 to 24-year-olds this represents in each case.

Dawn Primarolo: For the National Chlamydia Screening Programme, as at March 2007, there were 220,147 females and 49,993 males between the ages of 16 to 24 who provided a primary care trust (PCT) postcode of residence, who were tested for chlamydia in England. PCT data for 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07 have been placed in the Library.
	Information is not currently available by PCT or by the number of tests undertaken within genito-urinary clinics. The number of diagnoses of uncomplicated chlamydia infection in 16 to 24-year-olds in genito-urinary clinics in England by strategic health authority and sex for 2006, is given in the following table.
	
		
			  Strategic health authority  Gender  Number of diagnoses 
			 East Midlands Male 2,473 
			 East Midlands Female 3,454 
			 East of England Male 2,184 
			 East of England Female 3,304 
			 London Male 4,468 
			 London Female 6,619 
			 North East Male 1,774 
			 North East Female 2,196 
			 North West Male 4,723 
			 North West Female 6,121 
			 South Central Male 1,771 
			 South Central Female 2,681 
			 South East Coast Male 1,515 
			 South East Coast Female 2,041 
			 South West Male 2,563 
			 South West Female 3,084 
			 West Midlands Male 2,476 
			 West Midlands Female 3,265 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber Male 3,304 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber Female 4,434 
			 England Male 27,251 
			 England Female 37,199 
			  Notes: 1. Data are only available up to the calendar year 2006. 2. Data are not available at the PCT level. 3. Data on the number of test for chlamydia infection are not available. 4. The data available from the KC60 statutory returns are for diagnoses made in GUM clinics only. Diagnoses made in other clinical settings, such as general practice, are not recorded in the KC60 dataset. 5. The data available from the KC60 statutory returns are the number of diagnoses made, not the number of patients diagnosed. For example, individuals may be diagnosed with several co-infections and each diagnosis will be counted separately. 6. The information provided has been adjusted for missing clinic data.  Sources: 1. KC60 returns. 2. Health Protection Agency.

Chlamydia: Screening

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his latest estimate is of the average cost of delivering and processing an individual chlamydia screening test.

Dawn Primarolo: "Modelling the Healthcare costs of an opportunistic chlamydia screening" programme research published in 2004 using data from a pilot study undertaken between 1999-2000 in Portsmouth and Wirral within the National Chlamydia Screening programme, estimated the costs per screening offer, testing episode and positive result. This information is given in tables 1 and 2.
	A more recent article "The health care and patient costs of an proactive chlamydia screening programme: the Chlamydia Screening Studies (ClaSS)", published in 2007, identifies costs for register-based screening (rather than opportunistic screening which is used currently within the NCSP) but comes up with very similar average costs to the 2004 article.
	
		
			  Table 1: Estimated average costs of a chlamydia screen—excluding partner management costs 
			  Item  Estimated average cost  (£) 
			 Screening offer 14.18 
			 Testing episode 20.57 
			 Positive episode 27 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Estimated average costs of a chlamydia screen—including partner management costs 
			  Item  Estimated average cost (£) 
			 Screening offer 14.88 
			 Testing episode 21.83 
			 Positive episode 38.36 
		
	
	Copies of the research have been placed in the Library.

Contraceptives: Prescriptions

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research has been  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated by his Department on (i) the effectiveness and (ii) the safety of the Mirena contraceptive device; whether he has any plans to make this contraceptive device available on NHS prescription; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Mirena is an intrauterine device (IUD) that releases a medicine, levonorgestrel, directly into the uterus. It is authorised for contraception, reduction of heavy menstrual bleeding (menorrhagia) and protection from endometrial hyperplasia during oestrogen replacement therapy. Since Mirena first became available in the United Kingdom women have been able to obtain it through the national health service.
	The Medicines and Healthcare product Regulatory Agency (MHRA), together with independent expert advice for the Commission on Human Medicines is responsible for ensuring that medicines, including Mirena, have met appropriate standards of efficacy, safety and quality before they are granted a marketing authorisation and for ensuring that the benefits of treatment continue to outweigh the risks post authorisation, as further evidence emerges.
	In addition to efficacy studies conducted by the marketing authorisation holder, Schering Health, prior to grant of a marketing authorisation, the Department has funded a number of studies to evaluate the effectiveness of Mirena (mainly in the indication of menstrual bleeding). These include the ongoing ECLIPSE randomised controlled trial in 1,200 women with menorrhagia.
	The MHRA monitors the safety of all medicines, including Mirena, by evaluating data including adverse reaction reports received through the Yellow Card Scheme, published data, company studies and safety reviews, and information from other regulatory authorities. The benefits associated with Mirena are currently considered to outweigh the risks in its licensed indications.
	The safety of Mirena was recently subject to European review and this has lead to a recommendation to clarify advice about the recognised risks of ectopic pregnancy and uterine perforation. As a precautionary measure, Mirena will be contraindicated in women with progesterone-dependent cancers. The product information for health professionals is being updated to reflect this advice.
	The marketing authorisation holder is planning two studies: one to compare the risk of breast cancer in Mirena users with the risk in copper IUD users and users of other hormonal contraceptives and the other to compare the risk of uterine perforation in Mirena users with that in copper IUD users.

Departments: General Elections

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what contingency preparations his Department made for the possibility of a general election in autumn 2007; and what the costs were of those preparations.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Edward Miliband) on 15 October 2007,  Official Report, column 823W.

Departments: ICT

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many new  (a) laptops,  (b) mobile telephones and  (c) personal digital assistant devices his Department bought for the use of departmental Ministers following each Cabinet reshuffle since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department does not hold detailed records of laptops, mobile telephones and personal digital assistant (PDA) devices provided specifically to Ministers since 1997. However, the policy is to provide Ministers with one laptop, one mobile telephone, and one PDA each, where they have declared a requirement for such equipment. This equipment is usually new but may be re-allocated equipment depending on age and condition of the device. When a Minister leaves the Department the equipment is returned for re-allocation.
	Following this year's Cabinet reshuffle, the six current Ministers have been allocated a total of five laptops, one mobile phone and four Blackberry devices which have dual mobile phone and PDA functionality. The team of Ministers before the reshuffle were allocated four laptops, five mobile phones and four Blackberry devices.

Departments: Marie Stopes International Conference

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the Ministers from his Department who will be  (a) attending and  (b) speaking at the Marie Stopes International Conference being held at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre on 23-24 October; whether his Department will be contributing (i) direct funding, (ii) informal support and (iii) personnel; whether there are restrictions on the use of these contributions; whether officials from his Department will (A) attend and (B) participate; if he will place in the Library any material produced for the conference by his Department; what discussions his Department has had with the Department for International Development on this conference; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: No Ministers from the Department of Health are attending or speaking at the Marie Stopes International Conference being held at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre on 23-24 October 2007.
	The Department has contributed no funding, informal support or personnel to the event.
	Three officials from the Department will be attending the event and will participate in breakout sessions along with other conference delegates.
	No materials have been produced for the conference by the Department.
	Ministers from both the Department and the Department for International Development were invited to speak at the conference. There was correspondence between the Departments about attendance but due to business and travel pressures neither Minister was able to attend.

Drugs: Licensing

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to allow the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to undertake appraisals of medicines prior to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency granting them a product licence.

Dawn Primarolo: Under the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) Single Technology Appraisal process, NICE can already start to conduct an appraisal of a medicine when its marketing authorisation is imminent. However, NICE is unable to publish its final guidance until the medicine has received its marketing authorisation.

Health Services

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the potential impact on health outcomes of instructions to consultants by primary care trusts to reduce by 40 per cent. follow-up appointments.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 15 October 2007
	We are not aware of any blanket instructions by primary care trusts (PCTs) to consultants to reduce follow-up by 40 per cent. As good practice we would expect PCTs to be working with primary and secondary care clinicians to identify areas where redesign of the patient pathway can eliminate clinically unnecessary appointments, thereby speeding up and improving the patient experience. But this must be taken forward on the basis of clinical appropriateness.

Health Services: Education

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he has issued to NHS bodies on contributing to health awareness weeks; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department does not issue formal guidance to national health service bodies on contributing to health awareness weeks. Participation by individual NHS organisations in such events is arranged at local level.
	Where the Department is directly involved in organising awareness weeks, for example National Breastfeeding Awareness Week, it will promote the event to health care professionals and make resources available for use in local activities. For National Breastfeeding Awareness Week, the Department has provided resources such as posters and leaflets.
	Where the Department supports awareness weeks organised by third parties it will work with major stakeholders to promote the event to health care professionals through newsletters and other existing channels.

Healthcare Purchasing Consortium: Finance

Si�n Simon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the Healthcare Purchasing Consortium spent in 2006-07; and what it is forecast to spend in 2007-08;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the savings achieved within the NHS by the Healthcare Purchasing Consortium in 2006-07; and what estimate he has made of the expected equivalent figure for 2007-08.

Ben Bradshaw: The spend by the NHS Healthcare Purchasing Consortium on strategic sourcing activity for 2006-07 and expected forecast for 2007-08 is as follows:
	
		
			   Expenditure () 
			 2006-07 5,163,000 
			 2007-08 5,913,500 
		
	
	The savings achieved by the NHS Healthcare Purchasing Consortium for member trusts during 2006-07 and expected forecast for 2007-08 is as follows:
	
		
			   Savings () 
			 2006-07 19,100,000 
			 2007-08 26,900,000

Herbal Medicine: EC Law

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the numbers of herbal products currently on sale in the United Kingdom which will require registration under the Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive if they are to remain on the market; by what date applications for registrations must be made to ensure continuity of supply; and by what date the products will become illegal if not successfully registered;
	(2)  how many applications for registration have been received by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency; and how many positive decisions the Agency has taken to register herbal products under the Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the number of herbal products which are likely to become unavailable to specialist retailers as a result of the inability or reluctance of manufacturers to submit applications for registration of such products under the Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  what steps are being taken by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency to maximise the opportunities afforded under the Traditional Herbal Medicines Products Directive and other legislation to allow the continued availability of long-established herbal products whilst maintaining appropriate safety standards.

Dawn Primarolo: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has so far received applications for traditional herbal registration in relation to 29 products from a total of nine different companies. Five registrations have been granted and the other 24 applications are under assessment. In the light of discussions with individual companies, the MHRA expects steady growth in the number of applications received and registrations granted. The rate of build up of the scheme is reflective of the extent to which many companies needed to acquire expertise, for example in the manufacture of herbal medicines to systematic quality standards, before they could be in a position to submit applications.
	Under provisions in Directive 2004/24 /EC, unlicensed herbal medicines legally on the United Kingdom market at 30 April 2004 under section 12(2) of the Medicines Act 1968 received transitional protection until 30 April 2011. Following discussions with industry and the former Better Regulation Task Force the MHRA decided not to require companies to notify the agency of products for which transitional protection was claimed. Accordingly, there is no estimate of the number of products on the UK market being sold legally under section 12(2) but which cannot legally be placed on the market after 30 April 2011.
	We do not believe it is realistic to specify a date by which applications need to be made in order to secure continuity of supply. Time taken by the MHRA to assess applications depends on a number of factors including the quality of the application and how quickly the applicant responds to queries raised by the MHRA. The MHRA is giving extensive help to the industry through individual company meetings. Guidance to industry has stressed the importance of companies progressing their applications now if they wish to ensure continuity of supply.

Hospitals: Petitions

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he was  (a) informed and  (b) given sight of the recent petition from Surrey residents on the future of hospital services in the county; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: I responded to the petition on behalf of the Secretary of State, on 17 July 2007.

Influenza

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which industries he has deemed essential in the event of an influenza pandemic; and what support will be provided to them by the Government.

Dawn Primarolo: Whether it would be necessary to consider particular industries as essential in the event of an influenza pandemic is kept under review. As part of that process we will consider the results of the public engagement programme, designed to increase the Government's understanding of public attitudes to pandemic preparedness, that is planned for autumn 2007.

Influenza

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what total expenditure was on research into pharmaceutical interventions for use in the event of an influenza pandemic from  (a) his Department's research and development budget,  (b) the Medical Research Council and  (c) other sources of public funding in each year since 1997-98.

Dawn Primarolo: Many pharmaceutical interventions that would be used in an influenza pandemic (such as antiviral drugs and antibiotics) are also used for other purposes, and research conducted for such purposes would inform our response in an influenza pandemic. Research on seasonal influenza vaccines is also relevant to the development and use of vaccines for use in pandemic influenza.
	Over the last 10 years, the main part of the Department's total expenditure on health research has been devolved to and managed by national health service organisations. Details of individual NHS supported research projects including a number concerned with influenza are available on the national research register at:
	www.nrr.nhs.uk.
	The Department has also provided support from its research and development budget to a number of projects relevant to pharmaceutical interventions in an influenza pandemic.
	Over the next five years, the Department of Health has committed, through the National Institute for Health Research, 2.59 million to projects related to vaccines and immunity in the context of influenza. In December 2005, the Medical Research Council announced a 13.5 million initiative for research relevant to pandemic influenza. A number of other publicly funded bodies also support research relevant to pandemic influenza.

Influenza

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with the Home Department on the 25 per cent. clinical attack rate assumed for planning purposes in the Home Office's consultation document Planning for a possible influenza pandemica framework to manage deathsconsultation, published on 30 August 2007; what his latest estimate is of the most likely clinical attack rate in the event of an influenza pandemic; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department meets regularly with Home Office officials to discuss planning for pandemic influenza. The United Kingdom's plans are based on a range of attack rates from 25 per cent. up to a reasonable worst case of 50 per cent. This range is reflected in the draft Home Office guidance 'Planning for a possible influenza pandemicA framework for planners preparing to manage deaths'.

Influenza

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress is being made in developing a clinically-based algorithm for use by call handlers in the event of an influenza pandemic.

Dawn Primarolo: Development of the clinically-based algorithm for use by call handlers is now being led by NHS Direct; the algorithm is due to be tested in the last quarter of 2007.

Influenza: Vaccinations

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in  (a) each strategic health authority,  (b) each primary care trust and  (c) England will be eligible for the free influenza vaccine this winter; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Data are not collected centrally for each strategic health authority or each primary care trust. We estimate that 14.2 million people are eligible for the influenza vaccine in England.

Influenza: Vaccinations

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many influenza vaccination doses  (a) are available and  (b) will be available this winter to those eligible for the free winter influenza vaccine in each (i) strategic health authority, (ii) primary care trust and (iii) England; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many doses of influenza vaccination are available in 2007 for  (a) strategic health authorities,  (b) primary care trusts and  (c) doctors surgeries to purchase this winter; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The UK Vaccine Industry Group has agreed to make over 15 million doses of seasonal flu vaccine available this winter for the United Kingdom. So far, over 4.4 million doses have been delivered. The information is not available by strategic health authority or primary care trust.

Influenza: Vaccinations

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of eligible pensioners who receive influenza vaccinations.

Dawn Primarolo: We announced our seasonal influenza campaign on 28 September, incorporating a number of strategies aimed at encouraging people aged 65 years and over to receive their flu immunisation. The campaign incorporates:
	national TV advertising;
	advertising in national and regional newspapers and magazines, including ethnic media;
	advertising on pharmacy bags;
	work with voluntary organisations and commercial stakeholders such as the Alzheimer's society, AFTAID, Arthritic Association, British Heart Foundation, Lloyds Pharmacy, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Superdrug and Morrison's pharmacists.
	The Chief Medical Officer also wrote to all general practitioners with details of this year's flu vaccination programme in his letter of 30 March 2007. This provides surgeries with a number of months to plan their vaccination programme.

Influenza: Vaccinations

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to issue guidance to NHS trusts on how they should prioritise their staff for receiving a pandemic-specific vaccine in the event of an influenza pandemic.

Dawn Primarolo: The pandemic vaccination strategy will be determined by an assessment of the strength of the virus, and its impact on the population. As this assessment can only take place once the virus has emerged, specific advice on the vaccination of any part of the population, including health care workers, can only be issued at that point.

Influenza: Vaccinations

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he will issue guidance to employers on the stockpiling of clinical counter-measures for use in an influenza pandemic, with reference to his letter sent to the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire, dated 2 October 2007, reference PO00000234688.

Dawn Primarolo: No central guidance has been issued to employers wishing to stockpile clinical countermeasures. Employers who are considering this as part of their business continuity planning should do so in conjunction with their own occupational health advisers. The National Framework for responding to an influenza pandemic includes information in relation to stockpiling and use of clinical countermeasures. Work is also progressing on testing a clinical algorithm/protocol as part of the process for providing access to antivirals.

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust: Pay

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was paid to Rose Gibb, the former chief executive of Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS trust, upon the termination of her employment.

Ann Keen: holding answer 16 October 2007
	The employment of staff, clinicians and managers within the national health service is a matter for local NHS Boards. In the case of Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells we have asked the NHS trust to withhold any severance payment to the former chief executive prior to the Department considering legal advice on the matter.

Maternity Services: Sussex

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many babies were born while their mothers were in the process of travelling to  (a) Brighton hospital and  (b) Worthing hospital in the latest period for which figures are available.

Dawn Primarolo: This information is not collected centrally.

Medical Equipment

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 25 July 2007,  Official Report, column 1226W, on medical equipment, when he plans to take a decision as to whether to procure and stockpile face masks centrally.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department is progressing work to ensure that the appropriate face masks are made available to health care and social care workers during a pandemic. An announcement will be made in relation to this issue as soon as it is possible to do so.

NHS: Reorganisation

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what briefing Lord Darzi received on the proposals to downgrade Worthing and Chichester hospitals before his recent interview on GMTV.

Ann Keen: Lord Darzi is aware of the current consultation on the future of health services in West Sussex.

NHS: Repairs and Maintenance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost of backlog maintenance was in the NHS in each year from 1997-98 to 2006-07  (a) in total and  (b) broken down by NHS organisation.

Ben Bradshaw: The total backlog maintenance for England is provided in the following table.
	
		
			   Total backlog maintenance  ( million) 
			 1997-98 2,836 
			 1998-99 3,027 
			 1999-2000 3,108 
			 2000-01 3,242 
			 2001-02 3,378 
			 2002-03 3,517 
			 2003-04 3,193 
			 2004-05 3,142 
			 2005-06 3,684 
			 2006-07 3,740 
		
	
	Information for national health service organisations has been placed in the Library.
	The data are as provided by the national health service and have not been amended centrally. Their accuracy and completeness is the responsibility of the provider organisation. Trusts that have not provided data or have provided a zero response have been omitted for brevity.
	Investment to reduce backlog maintenance will be prioritised locally based on risk assessment, reconfiguration planning and available resources. The majority of the backlog maintenance relates to low priority work, which will be undertaken through ongoing maintenance programmes or replacement of facilities. Where higher risks are present, work will be undertaken as a priority.

Obesity: Fertility

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research has been  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated by his Department on links between obesity and infertility; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Over the last 10 years, the main part of the Department's total expenditure on health research has been devolved to and managed by national health service organisations. Details of individual NHS supported research projects including a small number concerned with the relationship between obesity and fertility are available on the national research register at
	www.nrr.nhs.uk.
	The Medical Research Council (MRC) is one of the main agencies through which the Government support medical and clinical research. The MRC is an independent body funded by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills.
	The MRC is not currently funding research specifically relating to the causal links between obesity and fertility. As part of a portfolio of more general research relating to the various causes of infertility however, the MRC has recently allocated 300,000 for the following research project on polycystic ovarian syndrome that links the symptoms of obesity and infertility:
	Dr. W. C. Duncan, University of EdinburghPolycystic Ovarian Syndrome: modelling development, phenotype and progression using a developmental paradigm.

Obesity: Pupils

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons the medical testing of school children for obesity is conducted on a parental opt-out basis; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The National Child Measurement programme (NCMP) gathers population level surveillance data and informs local planning and service delivery, and allows for the analysis of trends in growth patterns and obesity.
	The NCMP is conducted on an opt-out basis. Our guidance states clearly that:
	the privacy and dignity of the child is safeguarded at all times and the measurement is done sensitively in a private setting
	height and weight information should be gathered with minimal physical contact by health professionals (as defined in the Data Protection Act 1998).
	parents receive a letter explaining the purpose of the programme, and provide them with the opportunity to withdraw their child from it.

Patients: Smoking

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the percentage of hospital beds occupied by smokers.

Dawn Primarolo: The information is not collected centrally.
	According to the latest data available, smoking kills an estimated 87,000 people a year in England, about one-fifth of all deaths, and leads to an extra 560,000 admissions to hospital.
	 Source
	Information Centre Statistics on Smoking 2006 and relates to 2004-05.
	This bulletin is available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/smoking07

Primary Care Trusts: Elderly

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list by primary care trust area the areas in England with the highest proportion of residents over the age of retirement per head of population for the latest year in which figures are available.

Angela Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 16 October 2007:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your question regarding Primary Care Trust areas in England with the highest proportion of residents over the age of retirement per head of population for the latest year in which figures are available (157012).
	The latest population estimates available by primary care trust are for mid-2005. Table 1 shows the percentage of the population over retirement age by Primary Care Organisation. These estimates will be revised shortly.
	Estimates for mid-2006 and revised estimates for mid-2002 to mid-2005 will be published on 23 October 2007. These estimates are being revised to include improved international migration estimates. ONS has made improvements this year to the methods used for distributing international migrants to local areas as part of its Improving Migration and Population Statistics work programme. Please note therefore that the mid-2005 estimates provided here are not comparable with the revised 2005 mid-year estimates by Local Authority.
	
		
			  Table 1: percentage of the population of primary care organisations( 1)  in England over the age of retirement in mid-2005 in descending order 
			   Percentage of the population over state pension age( 2) 
			 England 19 
			   
			 Dorset 27 
			 Hastings and Rother 26 
			 Torbay 26 
			 East Sussex Downs and Weald 26 
			 Isle of Wight National Health Service 26 
			 Great Yarmouth and Waveney 25 
			 Devon 24 
			 Cornwall and Isles of Scilly 24 
			 Norfolk 24 
			 North Lancashire 24 
			 North East Essex 23 
			 Herefordshire 23 
			 West Sussex 23 
			 Bournemouth and Poole 23 
			 Somerset 23 
			 North Somerset 23 
			 Lincolnshire 23 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 23 
			 Sefton 22 
			 Shropshire County 22 
			 Blackpool 22 
			 Cumbria 22 
			 South East Essex 22 
			 Northumberland 21 
			 North Yorkshire and York 21 
			 Eastern and Coastal Kent 21 
			 Wirral 21 
			 Western Cheshire 21 
			 Suffolk 21 
			 North Staffordshire 21 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 21 
			 South Tyneside 21 
			 Gloucestershire 21 
			 North Tyneside 20 
			 North Lincolnshire 20 
			 Solihull 20 
			 Havering 20 
			 Dudley 20 
			 Derbyshire County 20 
			 Gateshead 20 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 20 
			 Worcestershire 20 
			 Central and Eastern Cheshire 20 
			 Bassetlaw 20 
			 Stockport 20 
			 County Durham 20 
			 Wiltshire 20 
			 Nottinghamshire County 20 
			 Hampshire 20 
			 North East Lincolnshire 20 
			 Walsall Teaching 20 
			 Darlington 20 
			 Doncaster 19 
			 South Staffordshire 19 
			 Bromley 19 
			 Wolverhampton City 19 
			 Warwickshire 19 
			 Leicestershire County and Rutland 19 
			 Surrey 19 
			 Barnsley 19 
			 Stoke on Trent 19 
			 Hartlepool 19 
			 West Kent 19 
			 West Essex 19 
			 Rotherham 19 
			 Trafford 19 
			 Sandwell 19 
			 Sunderland Teaching 19 
			 Bexley 19 
			 Sheffield 19 
			 Plymouth Teaching 19 
			 Wakefield District 18 
			 Derby City 18 
			 Central Lancashire 18 
			 Mid Essex 18 
			 South Gloucestershire 18 
			 East Lancashire 18 
			 Salford 18 
			 Calderdale 18 
			 Halton and St. Helens 18 
			 Buckinghamshire 18 
			 East and North Hertfordshire 18 
			 Ashton, Leigh and Wigan 18 
			 Bury 18 
			 West Hertfordshire 18 
			 Knowsley 18 
			 Warrington 18 
			 Cambridgeshire 18 
			 South West Essex 18 
			 Tameside and Glossop 18 
			 Birmingham East and North 18 
			 Bolton 18 
			 Leeds 18 
			 Coventry Teaching 17 
			 Middlesbrough 17 
			 North Tees 17 
			 South Birmingham 17 
			 Newcastle 17 
			 Oxfordshire 17 
			 Kirklees 17 
			 Northamptonshire 17 
			 Oldham 17 
			 Brighton and Hove City 17 
			 Hull 17 
			 Bedfordshire 17 
			 Liverpool 17 
			 Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale 17 
			 Portsmouth City Teaching 17 
			 Peterborough 17 
			 Harrow 17 
			 Swindon 16 
			 Bradford and Airedale 16 
			 Bristol 16 
			 Southampton City 16 
			 Barnet 16 
			 Telford and Wrekin 16 
			 Enfield 16 
			 Medway 16 
			 Hillingdon 16 
			 Berkshire West 15 
			 Sutton and Merton 15 
			 Redbridge 15 
			 Barking and Dagenham 15 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 15 
			 Berkshire East 15 
			 Nottingham City 15 
			 Croydon 15 
			 Leicester City 15 
			 Luton 15 
			 Richmond and Twickenham 14 
			 Kingston 14 
			 Manchester 14 
			 Brent Teaching 14 
			 Greenwich Teaching 14 
			 Ealing 13 
			 Hounslow 13 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 13 
			 Waltham Forest 13 
			 Milton Keynes 13 
			 Westminster 12 
			 Lewisham 12 
			 Heart of Birmingham Teaching 12 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 11 
			 Southwark 11 
			 Wandsworth 11 
			 Haringey Teaching 11 
			 Islington 11 
			 Camden 11 
			 City and Hackney Teaching 11 
			 Lambeth 10 
			 Newham 10 
			 Tower Hamlets 10 
			 (1) These data are on boundaries that were in place on 1 October 2006, and include 148 primary care trusts and four care trusts. (2) State pension age includes males aged 65 and over and females aged 60 and over.  Source: Office for National Statistics.

Smoking: Fines

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of the likely number of fines to be issued for non-compliance with the public smoking ban in the first year of operation in England.

Dawn Primarolo: From the commencement of smokefree legislation in England on Sunday, 1 July 2007 levels of compliance have been very high.
	Levels of compliance are fully in line with the Department's expectations set out in the regulatory impact assessment for the legislation which are based on the experiences of other jurisdictions that have introduced comprehensive smokefree legislation.
	Based on data collected from local authorities across England 98.7 per cent. of premises and vehicles required to be smokefree inspected in August were found to be fully compliant with the law. Full information is published at:
	www.smokefreeengland.co.uk/thefacts/national-compliance-data.html
	A small number of formal enforcement actions have been taken by local authorities, with 45 fixed penalty notices issued (26 in one area) and three court actions having been taken in the period 1 July to 31 August 2007.
	Smokefree legislation is supported by over three-quarters of people in England and the high levels of compliance to date is an clear indication that the objective of the new lawto protect people from secondhand smoke is being met.

West Sussex Primary Care Trust: Finance

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what basis West Sussex primary care trust is of the view that its share of the NHS budget will increase by 4.5 per cent. a year over the next few years from 2007-08, as stated in its consultation document Fit for the Future: modernising healthcare in West Sussex; whether this figure relates to real-terms increases or cash-terms increases; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: No decision have yet been made about the timing of revenue allocations to primary care trusts for 2008-09 to 2010-11.
	The West Sussex primary care trust should be able to provide further information regarding the figures quoted in its consultation document, Fit for the Future: Modernising Healthcare in West Sussex, if required

Worthing Hospital

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if  (a) he,  (b) Lord Darzi and  (c) the Chief Executive of the NHS will visit Worthing Hospital.

Dawn Primarolo: The Secretary of State for Health, Lord Darzi and David Nicholson, the NHS chief executive all make regular visits to national health service facilities across the country. Invitations are of course considered on a case by case basis and will depend upon diary pressures and parliamentary business. Therefore, if the hon. Member wishes to, he may send a formal request to Ministers.

Worthing Hospital

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the proposal from the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges that facilities at Worthing Hospital in West Sussex Primary Care Trust be downgraded.

Dawn Primarolo: It is for local primary care trusts in conjunction with other local stakeholders and their strategic health authorities (SHAs) to make assessments of current and future health needs and to commission services accordingly.
	South East Coast SHA has advised officials that it has provided a response to the report which can be found at the SHA's website:
	www.southeastcoast.nhs.uk/news/Newsrelease24.09.07.asp